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Northwestern Ontario leading
the province in access to Cancer Care and Patient Satisfaction
Still work to do
with rising rates of Obesity, Alcohol use and Smoking
May 8, 2008
The 2008 Cancer System Quality Index (CSQI), released today,
shows Northwestern Ontario as a leader in several areas of
cancer care delivery:
- We are number one in Ontario (and Canada) for patient
satisfaction
- Breast screening - we’re number two in Ontario with
nearly 68 per cent of all eligible women being screened
- We score the highest overall in Ontario for Access
to Care
- We are number one for lifetime access to radiation therapy
and in the “ready to treat - treat” wait time
category
- We are meeting chemotherapy wait time goals
- We are meeting or surpassing wait time goals for most
cancer surgeries
- Palliative Care - significant growth in our program thanks
to the ESAS pain and symptom management project
“Regional Cancer Care is also doing well in the areas
of cancer staging and we have the highest guideline concordance
for breast and colon cancer treatment. This translates to
providing the best possible treatment for each patient,”
says Dr. Kenneth Gehman, Medical Director, Surgical Oncology.
Dr. Dimitri Vergidis, Chief of oncology at Regional Cancer
Care calls the report “a reflection of outstanding performance
by a team committed to the delivery of cancer care in Northwestern
Ontario.”
“Our regional cancer program in the Northwest is second
to none. We continue to lead Ontario in many of the cancer
treatment, diagnostic and surgical wait times and are a high
performer in Canada for overall patient satisfaction. That’s
a tremendous accomplishment,” says Michael Power, Vice
President, Regional Cancer Services and Diagnostics. “We
look forward to improving our performance even further over
the next three years and tackling some of the challenges presented
in this CSQI report.”
The challenges are areas in which Ontarians require more
effort and improvement, according to the web-based CSQI report.
Ontarians need to take steps to reduce their risk of cancer
including alcohol consumption, sun exposure and smoking. Northwestern
Ontario continues to have the highest rates of obesity, smoking
and alcohol use in Ontario, and these rates are increasing
rather than decreasing.
“The Index allows us to evaluate progress and shine
a light on where we need to improve,” says Terrence
Sullivan, PhD, President and CEO, Cancer Care Ontario. “Cancer
Care Ontario together with our partners will step up efforts
to promote healthy living, boost screening rates and ensure
that high quality and safe cancer services are available everywhere
in the province.” Cancer Care Ontario continually improves
cancer services so that fewer people get cancer and patients
receive better care. The Cancer Quality Council of Ontario
monitors and reports to the public on the quality and performance
of the cancer system.
Overall, the 2008 Cancer System Quality Index demonstrates
that key cancer services throughout Ontario are more accessible,
timely and safe, while additional effort is needed to raise
screening rates and address the needs of Aboriginals and other
underserved communities. The quality and safety of cancer
services also continue to improve as more cancer drugs are
ordered and managed electronically and more services are being
delivered according to evidence-based quality standards.
Regional Cancer Care at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences
Centre is a leader in the implementation of new technologies.
Regional Cancer Care is the first cancer centre in Ontario
to go live with synoptic reporting, meaning our pathologists
and surgeons use a standardized software tool called mTuitive
to ensure consistency in reporting pathology results. “mTuitive
has been a very valuable tool recently added to our pathology
practice. It allows us to report on cancer parameters in the
most up to date and standardized way to facilitate appropriate
patient management,” says Dr. Joseph Wasielewski, Chief
of Pathology, Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre.
The Northern Cancer Fund of the Thunder Bay Regional Health
Sciences Centre contributed $200,000 toward the installation
of mTuitive, which ultimately improves patient care. “The
people of Northwestern Ontario continue to benefit from the
outstanding performance of the Regional Cancer Care Team and
the generosity of Donors who fund leading edge patient care
tools,” says Ken Bittle, Chair of the Board, Thunder
Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation. “Clearly, there
is a return on investment for donors to our foundation. The
Health Sciences Foundation, through its Northern Cancer Fund,
remains committed to excellence in cancer care in our region.”
The Index was launched in 2005 by the Cancer Quality Council
of Ontario, in partnership with Cancer Care Ontario. Now in
its fourth year, the Index presents a rolling snapshot of
activity in 32 key indicators that cover the spectrum of cancer
services, from prevention through to end-of-life care.
2008
Cancer System Quality Index Highlights
2008
Cancer System Quality Index Background
2008
Cancer System Quality Index
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