The development and implementation of the Northern Health lung cancer digital care pathway: a case study in service change

Rachel L. Duckham; Tracey Webster; Katharine See

doi:10.1071/AH23279

RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

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The development and implementation of the Northern Health lung cancer digital care pathway: a case study in service change

Rachel L. Duckham

^A ^B ^C ^* , Tracey Webster ^A and Katharine See ^A ^D

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A Clinical Leadership Effectiveness and Outcomes (CLEO), Northern Health, 185 Cooper Street, Epping, Vic. 3076, Australia.

^B Australian Institute for Musculoskeletal Science (AIMSS), The University of Melbourne and Western Health, St. Albans, Vic. 3021, Australia.

^C Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN), Deakin University, Burwood, Vic. 3125, Australia.

^D Department of Respiratory Medicine, Northern Health, Epping, Vic. 3076, Australia.

^* Correspondence to: Rachel.Duckham@nh.org.au

Australian Health Review 48(2) 148-153 https://doi.org/10.1071/AH23279

Submitted: 29 December 2023 Accepted: 11 February 2024 Published: 4 March 2024

© 2024 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of AHHA. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)

Abstract

This case study details the approach utilised to establish an easy to use, accessible and sustainable method for routine collection of Patient Reported Outcome Measures for patients newly diagnosed with lung cancer. We sought to enhance communication with patients and their families, particularly around shared decision making, their quality of life and symptoms, as well as the impacts of their care or treatment. We detail the co-design methodology utilised with consumers and healthcare providers to develop and implement a multi-lingual, fully automated digital care pathway which has been proven to be highly impactful and powerful for both healthcare providers working within the service and consumers enrolled within the digital pathway. This innovative initiative has changed the practice of the lung cancer service across a health service. Furthermore, its success has evolved the organisational strategy, to embed ‘Outcomes for Impact’ across the health service.

Keywords: care, co-design, consumer, digital care pathway, lung cancer, patient centred, patient reported outcomes, value-based healthcare.

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