Background
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death and the fifth most common cancer diagnosed in Australia. Prompt diagnosis and timely management can improve patient outcomes. Optimal Care Pathways (OCP) have been published by Cancer Council Victoria, and identify specific steps, or critical points along the care pathway and the recommended care at each point. The aim of this study is to map the lung cancer patients’ journey at Peninsula Health and compare it with lung OCP recommended timelines.
Methods
Patients discussed at lung cancer multidisciplinary team meeting at Peninsula Health for the 6-month period between November 2018 and May 2019 were considered for this study. Patients who then had a diagnosis of primary lung cancer were included. Patient data were collected from the Peninsula Health digital medical record and analysed using descriptive statistics. Ethics approval has been obtained for this study.
Results
Fifty-six patients were included in the study. 52% were female (n=29), and the average age at diagnosis was 66 years (n=51). The majority of patients were diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer (90%, n= 50). 5% were diagnosed with small-cell lung cancer (n=3), and 5% were of unclear type (n=3). The mean time from initial referral to first contact with a treating clinician was 17.7 days (n=34). The mean time from diagnosis to commencement of treatment was 41.7 days (n=28). Further to this preliminary data, we intend to describe the timing of radiological, endoscopy, and surgical procedures in our patient population
Conclusion
Once complete, this dataset will allow us to align the Peninsula Health cancer care pathway with the Optimal Care Pathway guidelines. We will also investigate the role of a cancer care co-ordinator in working with our patients and ensure that they receive timely and appropriate care in their cancer journey.