OneOncology’s Post

Lung Cancer in Elderly: Patient-Centered Approach for Optimal Delivery of Care. Accepted and Published Online in Geriatric Medicine and soon it will be available as a Book Chapter in Papercopy.

Older people account for the majority of Australia’s cancer diagnoses and deaths — so why is our national cancer care system struggling to meet their needs?   At the Centre for Improving Palliative, Aged and Chronic Care through Clinical Research and Translation (IMPACCT), part of the transdisciplinaryInstitute for Innovative Solutions for Wellbeing and Health at UTS (INSIGHT UTS Research Institute for Innovative Solutions for Well-being and Health), we believe that a whole-person geriatric model of care is what’s needed to deliver better cancer outcomes for older Australians.    Through the #MRFF funded Delivering Better Care for Older Australians with Cancer project, we’ll work in partnership with geriatricians, geriatric and regional oncology specialists, palliative care experts, biostatisticians, health economists and consumers to evaluate the impacts of this model on: older people with cancer (clinical outcomes and attainment of health and treatment goals) the clinicians who care for them (decision making practices, use of assessments and other resources) health service use (need for or access to acute and other health services) implementation (the individual, local and systemic factors impacting delivery of care).   Cancer is the leading cause of disease burden in Australia. Reducing this burden — on patients and those who love them, on clinicians and the health system, and on the economy — requires a truly transdisciplinary approach.     #cancer #cancerresearch #cancercare #palliativecare #ageing #agedcare #agedcareaustralia #healthyageing #transdisciplinarity #healthresearch https://lnkd.in/gdDeM2ND 

Transforming Oncology Care through #digital is possible with good use of #designthinking, #education and #engagement. My article on Digital Health highlights the opportunities for #prevention, #prediction and #personalisation in cancer care using digital technology.

An important article from our Co-Founder, Dr Penny Kechagioglou, on #digitalhealthcare in #oncology

"Patients diagnosed with chronic lymphedema often experience a reduced quality of life—encompassing physical discomfort and limited mobility —and the loss of economic resources." - Steven Chen, MD, MBA in MedCity News. 🔵 With the rise in cancer survivorship, it's critical to address long-term complications of breast cancer-related lymphedema (BCRL). 🔵 Early detection is key. Utilizing tools such as Bioimpedance spectroscopy to identify fluid buildup before symptoms emerge is crucial. 🔵 Embrace comprehensive management strategies focused on patient outcomes to mitigate the risks and enhance the well-being of survivors. 🔗 Explore BCRL challenges and the future of survivorship care https://lnkd.in/gVQTUWrQ

Understanding the costs associated with cancer is vital in order that resources are used for maximum effect. And investing in prevention and early intervention is critical if we are going to reduce the emotional and physical impact of cancer on individuals, families, friends and those that care for people with cancer. Calculating the health care and wider costs of cancer - as well as assessing the cost-effectiveness of prevention, early intervention and treatment - is a fundamental challenge faced by decision makers across the health and social care system. The costs of cancer can be felt at an individual level: work by Macmillan has shown that most (83%) cancer patients incur an average cost of £570 per month as a result of their illness. It can also be felt in the national economy: Oxford University estimate the cost of cancer to the economy is £7.6 billion a year due to premature deaths and time taken off work. Costs and the health system The Independent Cancer Taskforce Report (ICTR) set out the need for there to be clearer accountability of spend on cancer and emphasised the need for action in prevention and early diagnosis to reduce the longer term burden on the health system. It says: “The National Audit Office has estimated cancer services cost the NHS approximately £6.7bn per annum in 2012/13. The Five Year Forward View projections indicate that this will grow by about 9% a year, implying a total of £13bn by 2020/21.” Recommendation 95 in the strategy specifically asks that: “NHS England and Public Health England should work with Monitor and other bodies to consider how to develop better health economic evaluation of new service models and interventions.” We have a dedicated health economics team that commissions work to assess the economic impact of prevention and early intervention, and an example of this is recent work on bowel cancer in direct response to Taskforce Recommendation 95. This work has summarised the available cost-effectiveness evidence. Cost-effectiveness is a key concept in health economics and is concerned with the value we get from the money spent – where value is often expressed in terms of improving both survival and quality of life. For instance if we invested resources in the best possible way in bowel cancer then we would see improvements in survival, and also improvements in the quality of life of individuals who are staged earlier and therefore do not suffer the more unpleasant effects of treatment that could potentially be avoided. This is why a ‘return on investment’ (RoI) type approach has been followed in this work: how do we make sure that resources are invested in such a way that we achieve health gains at the same time as avoiding health care and other system costs further down the line.

An important overview in Cure Magazine of the role of #SupportiveCare in cancer care with City of Hope physicians and scientist leaders. I join Dr. Finly Zachariah, MD FAAFP FAAHPM FAMIA and Prof. Betty Ferrell, two stars in the Supportive Care universe. We discussed: ✔️ The importance of EARLY supportive care. ✔️ The need for pro-active symptom management. ✔️ Goals of care discussions, especially for older adults. Hope you will take a moment to read this! Cancer and Aging Research Group (CARG)

NEJM Catalyst pub--50% reduction in ED/hospital facilty usage by moving acute cancer care to the home in rural settings...bravo Huntsman Cancer Institute Kathi Mooney et al.! The oncology symptom/treatment course is so challenging, especially for patients that live far from such specialized cancer centers. This impressive work furthers our understanding of how to do it effectively and what the potential outcomes might be. The authors state: "Overall, a combined acute and surveillance-based subacute hospital-at-home program in rural areas can decrease care utilization, reduce and prevent symptom escalations, and improve patient experience. Implementing programs such as Rural HH should focus on enhancing the use of technologies to proactively improve patient monitoring, decrease patient travel burden, and facilitate communication among the broader care team. Reaping the benefits of this innovative home-based care model will require permanent adoption of value-based payment models." Trailblazing in this space, they highlight the much needed role for technology to play in advancing this patient-centered care and we at the HaH Tech Council are looking forward to leaning into this space together with so many of you to further unleash this opportunity. #futureofhealthcare #healthcareinnovation #healthcaretransformation #acutecare #oncology #oncologycare #hospitalathome #remotepatientmonitoring #telemedicine #virtualcare

👩💻 EHRs have revolutionized the way hospitals capture data, but they are not always accurate or complete. ❌ In a recent letter in JAMA Internal Medicine, researchers found that of nearly 11,700 seriously ill patients, 19% of those deceased were marked alive in the EHR.  ❌ This skewed data can generate inaccurate or biased large language models or algorithms, hinder efficient health management, and impede the health system’s ability to learn from adverse outcomes. ✅ During its curation process, COTA validates mortality data from the EHR and then corrects inaccuracies and gaps. ✅ In a recent study, the findings of which were presented at #ash2023 last month, COTA looked at how its data compares to that of the National Death Index, a gold standard for mortality data. ✅ Data on 21,567 patients was included. Exact date concordance between COTA’s data and the National Death Index was observed in 88% of patients, a rate the peer-reviewed study determined to be high. Read more in Fierce Healthcare, including insights from our chief medical officer, C. K. Wang.

Check out our recent study that shows the pattern of comprehensive care for #newlydiagnosed #pancreaticcancer in the United States. * Only 1 in 4 patients received #palliativecare within a year following diagnosis despite the aggressiveness and complexity of this cancer; * A third (1/3) of the cohort developed new-onset #anxiety and #depression; * In those who developed anxiety and depression, 50% of them received treatment, whether pharmacotherapy or counseling. * Receipt of mental health care varied by age and medical complexity but is independent from prior or concurrent palliative care. https://lnkd.in/gUydNju5 #cancerrelated #cancercare #mentalhealthcare #behavioralcare #healthserviceresearch #valuebasedcare #healthdisparity #rwe #bigdata