Bradley Cathy J
Department of Health Administration and Massey Cancer Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23298, USA.
J Med Internet Res. 2005 Jul 1;7(3):e29. doi: 10.2196/jmir.7.3.e29.
The Internet is commonly used to provide treatment information to patients diagnosed with cancer. Notably missing from the existing websites is information on the cost of cancer care in terms of medical costs to the patient and work-related consequences. The purpose of this paper is to describe what is known about the economic cost of cancer and to describe how this information can be structured so that it is of more benefit to patients. This paper first provides an overview of the information available regarding medical expenses and productivity costs associated with cancer survivorship, particularly with respect to cancer and employment. Second, it draws attention to the sparse economic information available online to cancer survivors. Patients can find information on sources of financial assistance, but they cannot estimate from the available information the cost of their care or anticipate the impact that cancer and its treatment may have on their jobs. Finally, a strategy for filling the void in online economic cancer information is described. Substantial opportunity exists to provide economic information to cancer patients and their families. The Internet is a natural forum for gathering and disseminating economic information. A unique advantage of the Internet is its ability to put information immediately in the hands of cancer patients and their families--assisting them to become informed consumers and skilled negotiators.
互联网通常用于向癌症确诊患者提供治疗信息。现有网站明显缺失的是关于癌症治疗成本的信息，包括患者的医疗费用以及与工作相关的后果。本文的目的是描述关于癌症经济成本的已知情况，并描述如何构建这些信息，使其对患者更有益。本文首先概述了与癌症幸存者相关的医疗费用和生产力成本的可用信息，特别是关于癌症与就业方面的信息。其次，它提请人们注意在线提供给癌症幸存者的经济信息匮乏。患者可以找到经济援助来源的信息，但他们无法根据现有信息估算自己的治疗成本，也无法预见癌症及其治疗可能对其工作产生的影响。最后，描述了填补在线癌症经济信息空白的策略。向癌症患者及其家属提供经济信息存在大量机会。互联网是收集和传播经济信息的天然平台。互联网的一个独特优势是能够立即将信息交到癌症患者及其家属手中——帮助他们成为明智的消费者和熟练的谈判者。
