Foundation Medicine, Inc. (NASDAQ: FMI) today announced that it has partnered with Patient Advocate Foundation (PAF) on a national program to provide assistance to patients with cancer and their families seeking access to targeted therapies. The program, called FoundationOne® CareLine, offers personalized case management services to patients who are uninsured, underinsured or face other challenges that impact their access to care, and increases physicians' ability to act on FoundationOne results.
Adoption of FoundationOne by academic and community-based oncologists supports the clinical utility required to improve health outcomes and quality of life for select groups of patients that can benefit from targeted treatment. However, it can sometimes be difficult for patients and their physicians to gain access to appropriate and potentially life-saving treatments.
"Rapid developments in genomics and the scientific understanding of cancer in recent years have fundamentally changed the way cancer can be treated, yet at times, the advances evidenced by new medical and scientific data have outpaced access to treatment," said Deborah Morosini, MD, vice president of clinical development, Foundation Medicine. "Through this partnership with Patient Advocate Foundation, FoundationOne CareLine connects patients to case management resources that help them navigate the appropriate channels to secure treatments by leveraging peer-reviewed literature supporting their use."
The FoundationOne CareLine is an expansion of a pilot effort between Foundation Medicine and PAF that supported patients from select large physician practices, and resulted in almost $400,000 in reimbursement for medical expenses secured for patients. Through the expanded program, clinical case managers will continue to provide comprehensive case management services to uninsured, underinsured and insured patients who are facing obstacles obtaining prescribed targeted therapies that are approved in an indication other than the patient's tumor type. Additional services include assistance navigating the reimbursement system to help cover costs associated with the FoundationOne test and ancillary treatment related costs, clinical trials education and screening and assistance for patients seeking access to investigational therapies under compassionate use.
"Patient Advocate Foundation case managers improve the lives of patients and help ensure that prescribed medical care is within reach by providing the appropriate evidence to payers to secure access to treatment," said Alan Balch, CEO of Patient Advocate Foundation. "Through this partnership, Foundation Medicine is supporting valuable case management services that will make a meaningful difference in the lives of cancer patients who are seeking access to targeted therapies that their doctors believe will have a significant impact in treating their disease."
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