Towards sustainable cancer care: Reducing inefficiencies, improving outcomes —A policy report from the All.Can initiative

Publication date: Available online 1 July 2017 Source:Journal of Cancer Policy Author(s): Suzanne Wait, Daniel Han, Vivek Muthu, Kathy Oliver, Szymon Chrostowski, Francesco Florindi, Francesco de Lorenzo, Benjamin Gandouet, Gilliosa Spurrier, Bettina Ryll, Lieve Wierinck, Thomas Szucs, Rainer Hess, Titta Rosvall-Puplett, Alexander Roediger, Jason Arora, Wendy Yared, Sabrina Hanna, Karin Steinmann, Matti Aapro The past few decades have seen considerable advances in the way cancer is diagnosed and treated. Yet with the growing prevalence of cancer and ongoing pressures on limited healthcare budgets, equal access to the latest scientific advances and their affordability have become a challenge. In the face of limited resources and increasing demand, we need to find better ways of allocating the resources we have, and to focus on what can make the greatest difference to patients. This means both eliminating interventions that offer limited benefit and prioritising those that give the greatest benefit to patients and value to the wider system. Improving the efficiency of cancer care must start with a clear understanding of what outcomes we are trying to achieve for patients. We must (1) look across the entire cancer care pathway and move away from budget siloes and fragmentation in our current healthcare systems; (2) measure the impact of what we do by investing in the right data; and (3) use these data to drive a culture of continuous improvement with clear ...
Source: Journal of Cancer Policy - Category: Cancer & Oncology Source Type: research