Evaluation of patient-reported experiences among cancer survivors in two public hospitals in Yerevan, Armenia, before and after changes in reimbursement policy

Abstract

Cancer is the second leading cause of death all over the world, but the number of cancer survivors is also increasing. On average, 18.1 million people are diagnosed with cancer in the world annually. Being one of the costliest diseases to treat, cancer patients often face financial difficulties. The cost of the treatment can be a decisive factor in initiating treatment. Cancer survivors must first endure a long, emotionally, and physically stressful treatment period. The quality of provided health care services can have an impact on both treatment processes and outcomes. Patient-Reported Experience Measures (PREMs) is one of the accepted tools to measure patient experiences in hospitals and provide the patients’ view on the quality of care. At the beginning of 2019, the Armenian government implemented a new program that provided financial support to all Armenian citizens newly diagnosed with cancer. The program covers the full cost of surgical treatment for all types of newly diagnosed cancers and provides partial reimbursement for radiotherapy. Aim: The study aims to assess the difference in the PREMs before and after the program implementation, identify the predictors of PREMs, investigate the effect of the program on the patients’ financial burden as well as understand how it affected the time from the first diagnosis to the treatment.