Evaluating the Cost-Effectiveness of Cancer Patient Navigation Programs: Conceptual and Practical Issues.

The article focuses on a conceptual model to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of cancer navigation programs such as the one used by the Patient Navigation Research Program (PNRP), a multicenter study supported by the National Cancer Institute in the U.S. It states that navigation programs improve access to healthcare but their efficiency, efficacy of cancer diagnostic and therapeutic services remain unclear. PNRP examines navigation programs that reduce time to deliver a quality cancer care.