Assessment of Financial Screening and Navigation Capabilities at NCI Community Oncology Clinics.

BACKGROUND: Cancer-related financial hardship is a side effect of cancer diagnosis and treatment, and impacts both patients and caregivers. While many oncology clinics have increased financial navigation services, few have resources to proactively provide financial counseling and assistance to families impacted by cancer before financial hardship occurs. As part of an ongoing randomized study testing a proactive financial navigation intervention (S1912CD) among NCI Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP) sites, we conducted a baseline survey to learn more about existing financial resources available to patients and caregivers.

METHODS: NCORP sites participating in the S1912CD study completed a required 10-question survey about their available financial resources and an optional 5-question survey focused on financial screening and navigation workflow and challenges prior to starting recruitment. Proportion of NCORP sites offering financial navigation services was calculated and responses to the optional survey were reviewed to determine current screening and navigation practices and identify any challenges.

RESULTS: Most sites (96%) reported offering financial navigation for cancer patients. Sites primarily identified patients needing financial assistance through social work evaluations (78%) or distress screening tools (76%). Sites revealed challenges in addressing financial needs at the outset and through diagnosis, including lack of proactive screening and referral to financial navigation services and staffing challenges.

CONCLUSIONS: While most participating NCORP sites offer some form of financial assistance, surveys identified gaps and challenges in providing services. Utilizing community partners to deliver comprehensive financial navigation to cancer patients and caregivers may help meet needs while reducing site burden.