Payors must also provide timely and convenient access to high quality radiation therapy planning and delivery equipment, as well as to other specialized radiotherapeutic procedures and equipment. Payors must provide access to surgical subspecialty care, including specialized techniques when medically indicated. Payors must further recognize that specialized oncology nursing care and oncology social work are an essential part of multidisciplinary cancer care. Treatment in a clinical trial is often a cancer patient's best option. Payors must provide patient access to and coverage of the patient care costs associated with participating in cancer clinical trials that have been approved by the National Institutes of Health, NIH cooperative groups and centers, the Food and Drug Administration, the Department of Defense, the Department of Veterans Affairs, or a qualified nongovernmental research entity identified in the guide-lines issued by NIH for cancer center support grants.
Psychosocial services are an important component of cancer care.
These include support groups, counseling by oncology social workers and other trained psychosocial professionals, and medical interventions. People with cancer should receive access to such services, not limited by their previously existing conditions. Supportive care services and effective symptom management are essential to promoting the quality of life for people diagnosed with cancer. Patients must have access to these services and therapies as part of their comprehensive cancer care. Patients must have access to and coverage for hospice services.