Electronic finance-related outcome measures (eFROMs): a new approach to screen for cancer-related financial toxicity in clinical practice.

Abstract

‘Financial toxicity’ is defined as the financial distress or hardship arising as a consequence of a cancer diagnosis and its treatment [1]. The main contributors are high cancer-related patient out-of-pocket costs from hospitalisations, medications, multiple courses of therapy, ongoing imaging scans, travel, and medical aids, as well as reduced income from lost work time. For some cancer types, patients may not be able perform normal duties at work due to fatigue, somatic and neurocognitive symptoms, or intensive treatments. Broader societal costs of caring for someone with cancer involve social service use, high uptake of disability support pensions [2], and long-term support needs. Much more needs to be done to raise awareness of and optimal management of financial toxicity within individuals and families affected by cancer. To date, several financial counselling or navigation pilot studies have been conducted [3,4,5,6]. While these aim to alleviate the impacts of financial burden in patients with cancer, no screening initiative has been trialled. Herein we propose the value of using Electronic Finance-Related Outcomes Measures (eFROMs) to assess and monitor financial toxicity across the continuum of care.