20 June 2016 - Doctors who are not upfront with cancer patients about likely out-of-pocket costs and other options are causing “avoidable suffering for tens of thousands of households across Australia each year”, cancer experts have warned.

Sanchia Aranda from Cancer Council Australia and David Currow from Cancer Institute NSW have taken the extraordinary step of highlighting how vulnerable ­patients are not being afforded the right to make informed decisions.

In a Medical Journal of Australia article on “financial toxicity”, published today, the experts argue medical practitioners should be informing patients not only about risks and benefits of proced­ures but also costs and other options.

“Procedures and interventions, at times with marginal health gains, are being promoted actively — frequently with high costs and little meaningful benefit in terms of quality of life or survival,” professors Aranda and Currow wrote, likening the situation to a “menu without prices”.

For more details, go to: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/health/cancer-patients-hurt-by-lack-of-informed-choice-on-costs-options/news-story/d6b8337eb7f6e1b67fdc263e30510d31