A randomized controlled trial (RCT) testing a mobile application (app) to identify cancer treatment-related financial assistance.

7073 Background: Insured cancer patients face high treatment-related, out-of-pocket costs. While philanthropic- and pharmaceutical-sponsored financial assistance programs exist, patients are often unaware of them. We developed “Bridge”, a patient-facing app that identified financial assistance programs for which a patient might be eligible based on treatment, disease, insurance, and financial characteristics. We hypothesized that patients in the Bridge study arm would be more likely than controls to apply for and receive financial assistance. Methods: We enrolled patients at a single institution from January 2018-March 2019. Patients were receiving treatment for any cancer, had a life expectancy of ≥6 months, and self-reported out-of-pocket costs. We randomized patients 1:1 to intervention (Bridge) vs. control (financial assistance educational websites). We assessed subjective financial distress with the validated COST measure. Outcomes included application for and receipt of financial assistance. Data on outcomes was collected from the medical record, institutional pharmacy database, and Bridge. We compared patient characteristics between study arms using chi-square and Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon tests. We used an unadjusted logistic regression model to compare differences in outcomes. Results: We randomized 200 patients and found no significant differences between arms in baseline characteristics (Table). At 6 months from enrollment, patients in the Bridge arm were more likely than controls to apply for financial assistance [35% Bridge vs. 10% control, OR 3.53, 95%CI 1.69-7.34, p < 0.01]. Bridge patients were also more likely than controls to receive financial assistance (30% Bridge vs. 9% control, OR 3.39, 95%CI 1.78-6.46, p < 0.01). Conclusions: Among patients with treatment-related out-of-pocket costs, those who interacted with a financial assistance app were significantly more likely to apply for and receive treatment-related financial assistance. [Table: see text]