Haydee Verduzco-Aguirre, MD

Dr. Verduzco-Aguirre is an Attending Physician in the Department of Hematology and Oncology, at the Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición in Salvador Zubirán

I am honored to join this team as a 2023-2024 Costs of Care Oncology Fellow. I am a medical oncologist working in the public setting in Mexico City. My practice mostly focuses on breast cancer, and my research interests include geriatric assessment in oncology, global oncology, and the value of cancer care. I am also currently pursuing a master’s degree in Health Professions Education.

Despite recent advancements, the healthcare system in Mexico is quite fragmented, both in the public and private settings, which widens the disparities in affordability and quality of cancer care in the country. In many cases, the cost of cancer drugs limits wide access to newer therapies, both in the public setting and for private patients who pay out of pocket for these medications. Therefore, even high-value interventions may be out of reach for many patients, evidently having an adverse impact on survival and quality of life.

I am interested in innovations such as alternate dosing schedules for immunotherapy drugs, which could provide access to these drugs for a larger number of patients without compromising efficacy. In collaboration with the Costs of Care team, I aim to study the potential barriers to the future implementation of these interventions.

I am excited to be the first Costs of Care Fellow based outside of the United States. Throughout my fellowship, I plan to bring a global vision to the initiatives promoted by Costs of Care so that they can be easily adapted to the needs of multiple healthcare systems, taking into account not only diverse regulatory issues but also cultural and language-related differences. Understanding these differences will allow the implementation of value-based delivery of healthcare and medical education throughout North America as a first step, aiming at expanding the reach of Costs of Care’s initiatives.