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Communication

Integrating Regional and Community Lung Cancer Services to Improve Patient Care

1
Department of Radiation Oncology, Odette Cancer Centre and University of Toronto, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, 2075 Bayview Avenue, Toronto, ON M4N 3M5, Canada
2
Department of Medical Oncology, Toronto East General Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada
3
Department of Medical Imaging, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
4
Department of Thoracic Surgery, Toronto East General Hospital and University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
5
Department of Thoracic Surgery, The Scarborough Hospital and University of Toronto, Scarborough, ON, Canada
6
Department of Medical Oncology, Odette Cancer Centre and University of Toronto, Sunny-Brook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, ON, Canada
7
Department of Pathology, The Scarborough Hospital, Scarborough, ON, Canada
8
Department of Respirology, Sunnybrook Health Science Centre and University of Toronto, 2075 Bayview Avenue, Toronto, ON M4N 3M5, Canada
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Curr. Oncol. 2007, 14(6), 234-237; https://doi.org/10.3747/co.2007.157
Submission received: 5 September 2007 / Revised: 5 October 2007 / Accepted: 5 November 2007 / Published: 1 December 2007

Abstract

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in Canada. The organization of health care services is central to the delivery of accessible, high-quality medical care and may be one factor that influences patient outcome. An exciting opportunity arose for clinicians to initiate the redesign of lung cancer services provided by three institutions in the Greater Toronto Area. This qualitative report describes the integrated lung cancer network that they developed, the innovation it has facilitated, and the systematic approach being taken to evaluate its impact. Available clinical resources were deployed to restructure services along patient-centred lines and to provide greater access to the specialist lung cancer team. A non-hierarchical clinical network was established that consolidates the lung cancer team. A multi-institutional and multidisciplinary tumour board and comprehensive thoracic oncology clinics are at its core. This innovative organizational paradigm considers all of the available services at each facility and aims to fully integrate specialists across the three institutions, thereby maximizing resource utilization. We believe that this paradigm may have wider applicability. The network is currently working to complete a current program of further service improvements and to objectively assess its impact on patient outcome.
Keywords: health care organization; lung cancer; multidisciplinary team; multidisciplinary clinic; clinical network; tumour board health care organization; lung cancer; multidisciplinary team; multidisciplinary clinic; clinical network; tumour board

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Dahele, M.; Ung, Y.; Meharchand, J.; Shulman, H.; Zeldin, R.; Behzadi, A.; Simone, C.; Cheng, S.; Weigensberg, C.; Sivjee, K. Integrating Regional and Community Lung Cancer Services to Improve Patient Care. Curr. Oncol. 2007, 14, 234-237. https://doi.org/10.3747/co.2007.157

AMA Style

Dahele M, Ung Y, Meharchand J, Shulman H, Zeldin R, Behzadi A, Simone C, Cheng S, Weigensberg C, Sivjee K. Integrating Regional and Community Lung Cancer Services to Improve Patient Care. Current Oncology. 2007; 14(6):234-237. https://doi.org/10.3747/co.2007.157

Chicago/Turabian Style

Dahele, M., Yee Ung, J. Meharchand, H. Shulman, R. Zeldin, A. Behzadi, C. Simone, S. Cheng, C. Weigensberg, and K. Sivjee. 2007. "Integrating Regional and Community Lung Cancer Services to Improve Patient Care" Current Oncology 14, no. 6: 234-237. https://doi.org/10.3747/co.2007.157

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