In 2025, the United States is expected to have more than 2 million new cases of cancer, claiming over 600,000 lives, according to the American Cancer Society. With the increase in all types of cancer, access to specialists and treatment has become key to making sure patients have the best possible survival rates. For Dr. Geneva Guarin, MD, MBA, the real inefficiency isn’t just in the price of treatment, but also the system itself. This could include hospitalizations that could have been prevented, underused palliative services, and fragmented communication between providers that drives costs higher without improving outcomes.
Dr. Guarin, who practices at a major university hospital, is rethinking that model from the inside out. Her approach combines the precision of medicine with the strategy of business, tackling inefficiency as both a clinical and operational problem. “Early diagnosis leads to early initiation of treatment and better outcomes,” she said. “That starts at the grassroots, with primary care. But the system needs to support that consistency.”
Dr. Guarin points to basic interventions that could prevent thousands of hospital stays each year, such as improving outpatient hydration for chemotherapy patients or expanding access to vaccines for preventable infections like flu and pneumonia. They’re small shifts that, when done at scale, could relieve immense pressure on hospital budgets while improving patient well-being.
Still, innovation in healthcare is rarely simple. “Cancer care expenditure has to be viewed through a multi-stakeholder lens,” Dr. Guarin explained. “From patients to insurers to hospital systems, everyone has a role.” She believes a large part of the answer lies in leveraging data and technology, particularly in areas like medication reconciliation, a process that ensures patients are prescribed the right drugs after discharge. “Errors in medication reconciliation can cause harm and increase the risk of readmissions,” she said. “If there’s a way to integrate technology into electronic health records to improve accuracy, it would benefit both providers and patients.”
Dr. Guarin also highlights early palliative care, an often-overlooked tool in cost reduction. Studies have shown that integrating palliative services earlier in the cancer journey improves both survival and quality of life, yet they remain underutilized. “There’s a misconception that palliative care means a doctor has given up,” Dr. Guarin said. “In reality, it’s about adding support sooner and improving quality of life.” By investing in holistic care models, we can see a reduction in unnecessary hospitalizations.
But there’s a human-capital problem too. The oncology workforce faces record levels of burnout, compounded by staffing shortages and an emotionally heavy caseload. “Burnout in oncology units isn’t just physical, but often very emotional too,” Dr. Guarin said. “We know our patients are going through one of the hardest times of their lives. Sometimes I don’t even notice how the emotional toll builds up until later.” Her hospital has introduced mental-health and well-being programs for clinicians, but Dr. Guarin believes scaling those practices nationwide is essential for retention and quality care. “We have to take care of ourselves so we can take care of our patients better,” she added.
The business case for her work is clear. It would lead to fewer readmissions, reduced costs, and better patient outcomes. For insurers, that means more sustainable reimbursement models. For hospitals, it’s efficiency that doesn’t sacrifice compassion. And for investors and entrepreneurs entering health tech, it’s a roadmap for where innovation is needed most, in areas such as early detection, seamless care coordination, and technologies that prevent avoidable hospital stays.
Dr. Guarin’s long-term goal is national adoption of smarter inpatient systems and data-driven cancer care standards. Her research on immune checkpoint inhibitors, a breakthrough cancer therapy that can decrease ICU admissions, could inform new national guidelines on treatment monitoring and resource allocation. “I hope my work contributes to the growing body of knowledge on how we can improve hospital outcomes for patients with cancer,” she said.
Cancer care may never be simple, but the way we deliver it can be smarter. Dr. Guarin’s work is a reminder that the next wave of healthcare innovation won’t come only from labs or boardrooms, but will also come from physicians who are on the frontlines.
