About The Study: This cohort study of older traditional Medicare beneficiaries who were diagnosed with common metastatic cancers found a mean of 40 to 62 health care contact days in the year after diagnosis. Health care contact days increased from 2008 to 2019, suggesting that treatment advancements and/or care inefficiencies may have imposed additional burdens on beneficiaries. The results of this study suggest that oncology teams should discuss expected contact days and related burdens when developing care goals and treatment plans with older adult patients.
Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Ishani Ganguli, MD, MPH, email iganguli@bwh.harvard.edu.
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(doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.47924)
Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, and funding and support.
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Journal
JAMA Network Open