Cancer Anywhere speeds up patents’ access to treatment
 
Cancer Anywhere program improves patients’ access to treatment, allowing them to seek care from public health units regardless of hospital registry.
 
On 25 January, the National Health Security Office (NHSO) revealed the positive outcomes of its Cancer Anywhere program, which allows patients to receive treatment anywhere in the country.

This policy has led to an increased number of patients accessing cancer treatment, both in terms of the number of individuals and the frequency of visits.

There has been an expansion of radiation therapy and chemotherapy units, resulting in improved care for patients in all regions.


Dr Lalitaya Kongkham, the NHSO Deputy Secretary-General, said that the goal of Cancer Anywhere program is to enhance public access to cancer treatment and reduce waiting times.

It is co-managed by the NHSO which is responsible for reimbursement. Ministry of Public Health and the National Cancer Institute oversee the design of care delivery.

Since the program is implemented on January 1, 2021, the Ministry of Public Health has bolstered the number and capacity of cancer care units nationwide to ensure patients’ accessibility.

The number of chemotherapy units has risen from 143 in 2021 to 183 today. There are 42 radiation therapy units across all of Thailand’s regions.


The two-year program has resulted in a significant increase in cancer patients accessing healthcare services.

According to the NHSO's database, 280,388 patients received treatment, with a total of 2,955,005 visits since the launch of the program.

All health administrative regions, except Bangkok, have been successful in taking care of cancer patients within their respective provinces or districts.

But patients in Bangkok, which is in the health administrative region 13, mainly came from other provinces as the capital is a hub for domestic immigrants.

Out of the 62,663 patients in Bangkok, 49.81% crossed district borders to seek cancer treatment, 40.19% came from within the capital, and 15.99% sought treatment at their local healthcare units.

Before the program implementation, cancer patients clustered at medical schools that provide tertiary care and operate cancer excellent centers.

The program has encouraged patients to seek care in public health units run by the Ministry of Public Health, possibly because of better accessibility.

However, the satisfaction score for service recipients slightly declined from 8.50 in 2021 to 8.19 in 2022, which the causes are unclear.


The number of complaints declined from 96 cases in 2021 to 28 cases in 2022, and a slight increase to 35 cases in 2023.

Most complaints were related to extra billing and denial of services within the Bangkok metropolitan region.
 
Background: Cancer Anywhere aims to solve the delayed treatment, especially for patients signed up with low-capacity hospitals.

They must be transferred to advanced hospitals, which procedure could take time by documentation work.

Patients may need to wait over a month or more to get treatments because the destination hospitals are filled with early comers.

The program speeds up the inter-hospital transfer by allowing patients to choose the destination hospitals, which can take more patients, while the hospital staff proceeds the transfer with electronic documents.
 
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