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Treatment outcomes of colorectal cancer patients enrolled in a comprehensive benefits program of the National Health Insurance System in the Philippines: Data from the program pilot site

Abstract Background Colorectal cancer is the third most common site of malignancy in the Philippines. This has led the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), an attached agency of the Philippine Department of Health, to create the Z-Package Colorectal Cancer Benefit Program to fund the treatment of Filipinos with stage I-III colorectal cancer. This program intends to provide quality care through a multidisciplinary team approach to optimize treatment outcomes for this disease without causing financial toxicity on the part of the patients. The University of the Philippines - Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH) is the pilot site of this program. This is the first study to report data from the colorectal cancer Z-package program. Methods Three-year data from patients enrolled under the Z-Package Colorectal Cancer Benefit Program from 2016 to 2018 were reviewed by the UP-PGH colorectal cancer study group. Descriptive statistics and Cox proportional hazards regression were employed to summarize patient characteristics and analyze treatment outcomes. Results A total of 251 patients were enrolled in the Z-package Benefit Program from 2016 to 2018. The mean age at enrolment was 57 years old. 66% of patients were males. 78% of patients had rectal cancer and 82% were diagnosed with Stage 3 disease. Compliance to the prescribed surgery, chemotherapy, and/or radiation treatment were 90%, 77%, and 96% respectively. Recurrence, morbidity, and mortality rates of enrolled patients from 2016-2018 were 17%, 22%, and 19%, respectively. Morbidities were mostly due to chemotherapy. Patients in this program had a 2-year survival rate of 74% and 3-year survival rate of 70%. Conclusions The results of this study show that a multidisciplinary-approach to patient care funded by a comprehenesive benefits program can positively impact patients’ overall survival in colorectal cancer. This study serves to promote the support for this program by PhilHealth in the future. Legal entity responsible for the study University of the Philippines - Philippine General Hospital. Funding Has not received any funding. Disclosure All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.