Creating a Data-Informed Strategy to Supporting Your Cancer Care Continuum

NEXTpert:  Dr. Ray Fabius. MD., President and Chief Medical Officer of HealthNEXT

This article, written by Dr. Ray Fabius, is designed for employers, benefit leaders, and their vendor partners who want to use data to improve cancer prevention, detection, treatment, and survivorship across their covered populations. It is adapted from the Greater Philadelphia Business Coalition on Health’s Oncology Resource Guide and summarizes the section authored by Dr. Fabius, “Creating a Data-Informed Strategy to Support Across the Cancer Care Continuum.” 

Why cancer care requires a data-informed employer strategy 

Employers today have more information than ever to support a healthy, motivated, and productive workforce, including across the cancer care continuum. Applying population health principles helps organizations reduce health risks, ensure rapid access to care, and support employees and family members facing serious illness. When people are thriving, they are less likely to develop cancer, and if they do, they are better able to tolerate treatment and recover. 

With the right knowledge and tools, employers can better understand and track key cancer risk factors. Obesity, certain infections such as hepatitis and human papillomavirus (HPV), and chronic conditions like autoimmune disorders and emphysema all play a role. Using data to identify people with these risks and connect them to appropriate screening procedures and care can help reduce complications and improve outcomes over time. 

Building on Prevention Science 

A strong cancer care strategy is grounded in the four levels of prevention: primordial, primary, secondary, and tertiary. Primordial prevention focuses on improving the work environment and culture, including reducing occupational exposures such as chemicals and radiation. These efforts are within the domain of environmental health and safety experts as well as occupational health physicians and inform decision-making.  

Primary prevention aims to eliminate illness by promoting healthy lifestyles, physical activity, smoking cessation, and vaccination rates for viruses such as HPV and hepatitis B. Secondary prevention emphasizes early detection through cancer screening, such as mammography, which can save lives and sometimes avoid more aggressive treatment (lumpectomy). Tertiary prevention ensures access to the best care, including centers of excellence, and provides ongoing support for the growing population of cancer survivors. 

Applying the Triple Aim to Cancer Care 

The framework of the Triple Aim—improving care, reducing costs, and enhancing experience—offers a clear structure for a cancer continuum dashboard. Employers can track metrics that demonstrate better outcomes, lower per-case costs, and higher satisfaction with cancer care and benefits. 

Across the cancer care continuum, distinct phases such as diagnosis, treatment, survivorship, and palliation each deserve tailored metrics. Measuring efforts in awareness, advocacy, navigation, education, coaching, and case management creates a more complete view of how employers, health plans, vendors, point solutions, and EAPs are performing together. 

Step 1: Understand Your Cancer Burden 

Begin by building a dashboard that illuminates cancer prevalence across your covered lives. Key element examples include: 

  • Prevalence of cancer-related health risks such as obesity and smoking. 
  • Acute illnesses associated with cancer, including infections that require strong primary care follow-up. 
  • Chronic conditions linked to cancer and the extent to which affected individuals access appropriate specialty care. 
  • Cancer prevalence by diagnostic groupings and across high-cost claimants. 
  • Cancer prevalence and types among disability and life insurance claims. 

This foundation helps employers prioritize where to focus prevention, early detection, and care management efforts. 

Step 2: Define Triple Aim Metrics 

Next, frame your Cancer Care Continuum Dashboard around effectiveness, efficiency, and experience. 

Effectiveness 

Example metrics include: 

  • Reductions in associated health risks 
  • Improved cancer screening rates 
  • Higher percentages of early-stage diagnoses 
  • Increasing cure rates.  
  • Greater use of EAP services in families coping with cancer and appropriate use of home care and hospice 

Efficiency  

Example metrics include: 

  • Reduction in cancer prevalence 
  • Reduced cost per case 
  • Decreased cancer-related Hospital days 
  • Decreased workdays lost 
  • Decreased disability days due to cancer 
  • Increased accommodation for cancer patients 
  • Faster return-to-work timelines 
  • Fewer lives lost to cancer 

Experience  

Example metrics, often survey-based, include: 

  • Greater awareness of the connection of health risks to Cancer  
  • Greater awareness of the importance of cancer screening  
  • Greater satisfaction with the cancer care received  

Step 3: Activate and Communicate 

Capturing data is only the start; leading employers use multiple communication channels to supplement care delivery and educate/activate their workforce. They prioritize cancers that affect large segments of covered lives, for example, focusing programming on breast cancer when data shows it is highly prevalent. 

Best practice includes: 

  • Ongoing review of benefit design and vendor relationships to ensure they collectively support high-quality cancer care 
  • Convening a vendor summit to align stakeholders on shared metrics can foster collaboration and accelerate improvement 
  • Guiding timely referrals to complex case management is particularly valuable for employees who lack medical expertise in their families 

Step 4: Support Work, Life, and Recovery 

A comprehensive cancer care continuum must also address work and life beyond the clinical setting. Employers can track accommodations that allow employees to keep working during treatment or return to work more quickly, recognizing that continued employment may be associated with better outcomes. Monitoring the use of EAP and related support for both patients and family members offers insight into the broader impact of cancer on the household. 

These efforts help employees and their families maintain stability and productivity while navigating a cancer diagnosis. Over time, such support improves not only health but also engagement and retention. 

Looking Ahead: Evolving the Dashboard 

Cancer diagnostics and treatment are advancing rapidly, with new screening tools, surgical techniques, chemotherapies, radiation approaches, and immunotherapies emerging. As these innovations mature, employer cancer dashboards can expand to incorporate new metrics that reflect earlier detection, more targeted treatment, and better long-term outcomes. 

Cancer care is increasingly transforming from a purely catastrophic event into a chronic condition managed with maintenance therapy and vigilant follow-up. By continually refining data strategies, employers can increase the likelihood that workers and their families experience cures, sustained health, and a full return to life at work, at home, and at play.