Improve care for patients with lung cancer, also thanks to the support of innovative and digital tools, such as telemedicine. This is the objective of the project ‘The importance of public-private partnership in the management of cancer patients‘, which sees a joint work by MSD Italia, the Irccs Foundation, National Cancer Institute of Milan and the School of Management of the Polytechnic of Milan. A project – reports a note – born on the basis of an effective collaboration which, after the recently concluded analysis phase, is increasingly coming to life, aiming to innovate the organisational-management processes which characterize the treatment path of the patient with breast cancer lung.
“The growing complexity of the social, economic and health context in which we operate and the countless challenges linked to safeguarding health require a synergistic and innovative approach that involves the public and private sectors – declares Nicoletta Luppi, president and managing director of MSD Italia – Partnership is essential to guarantee the increasingly complete, equitable and quality access to care that people need. Driven by this great sense of responsibility, we created it – with the Irccs National Cancer Institute Foundation and the Polytechnic of Milan. – to a virtuous collaboration, fundamental in the definition of an innovative process capable of improving the management and care of patients with lung cancer. In a world where health is a global priority, we are aware that investing in Research & Development (for which we lead among pharmaceutical companies worldwide and also in our country) must be accompanied by strategic collaborations capable of facing the challenges of the future to guarantee the well-being of all”.
Among the main objectives of the partnership is the optimization of the processes of early care and management of the patient in order to achieve a timely diagnosis of the disease, as well as the implementation of an effective treatment path capable of responding to needs of the patient and their caregiver.
From the study phase – continues the note – it emerges that the Int is positioned as a reference center at a national level, with 1,900 admissions per year for lung cancer, of which more than half come from regions other than Lombardy. The Int offers patients the possibility of completing the diagnostic process in a short time and with a multidisciplinary approach – thanks to the establishment of a Thoracic Reception Center (CAT) path dedicated to patients without a previous diagnosis – which sees the involvement of the professional figures of the oncologist, thoracic surgeon and pulmonologist in defining the diagnosis and the most appropriate treatment plan for the patient, within 30 days of the first access.
In the Cat path, which involves the discussion of cases, the multidisciplinary staff made up of around ten specialists compare themselves to define the most appropriate treatment plan for the patient, to which is added the fundamental contribution of the Case Manager, figure who takes care of the overall care of the patient and specifically of the administrative and management activities inherent to the correct and rapid carrying out of the diagnostic process.
At the institute, approximately 3,600 patients underwent therapy during the year analyzed, of which almost 80% underwent short-term therapy. In this regard, the Int offers patients various therapeutic options through interventional, but also observational trials (which involve approximately 95% of the patients in its care). Despite an estimated annual Tc requirement of around 1,400 services per year, with higher values for the treatment and follow-up phase, the institute’s difficulty in adequately responding to the request for in-depth diagnostics is real, due to the scarcity of the radiological resources available within it. This lack of performance leads patients to turn externally for radiological investigations of this type.
Thanks also to the comparison with the MSD global community – continues the note – in the analysis phase the Int was compared with 8 other important international centres, with the aim of capturing any elements of innovation and best practices to be imported and adopt internally. The centers considered, with reference to the European and non-European context, are among those of excellence in the panorama of oncology care, starting from the institute itself. Among the value cases that emerged from this benchmark analysis we find the use of new technologies (e.g. artificial intelligence and telemedicine tools), but also process and organizational changes. The improvement actions found were cataloged within a complexity-impact matrix to provide the institute with a tool through which to evaluate the feasibility of implementing each action and prioritize these improvements accordingly.
“Public-private integration – comments Gustavo Galmozzi, president of the Irccs Int Foundation of Milan – represents a very positive synergy for the healthcare system, allowing it to develop research and innovation in diagnosis and treatment, as well as to design and create new organizational models”. Observes Carlo Nicora, general director of the institute: “Today more than ever, the demand for health and services, technological innovations, changes in epidemiological frameworks, social, political and economic pressures are at the basis of the growing complexity of modern healthcare For our Irccs this translates into the mission of combining clinical-care services of hospitalization and treatment with specific activities of reorganization of care settings and scientific research, where the emphasis is placed precisely on the contextuality and complementarity between these dimensions”.
The project “represents a winning example of collaboration between public and private – underlines Paolo Locatelli, scientific director of the Digital Health Observatory of the School of Management of the Polytechnic of Milan – which has allowed a vast range of multidisciplinary skills and expertise. The in-depth study of the path of the patient with lung cancer made it possible to highlight both the peculiarities and the areas for improvement. The results confirmed the central role of the institute as a center of excellence, also for the facilitated and rapid access of patients to the treatment path. MSD Italia has created the opportunity to conduct this type of project, a strong interest in promoting innovative projects by bringing its experience also into international contexts which have further enhanced the identified strengths. The results reinforce the importance of these partnerships which, through commitment and cooperation, they can contribute to improving the quality of care pathways”. Emanuele Monti, president of Commission IX Social Sustainability, Home and Family of the Lombardy Region, is of the same opinion, for which “investing in synergies between public and private represents a strategic pillar for the future of our healthcare system to guarantee innovation and quality in services. Collaborations such as what is being told today, which favors the integration between research, technological development and patient care, bring important benefits to the system”.
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