Winners
Princess Margaret Cancer Centre: The Interprofessional Malignant Bowel Management Program
The Princess Margaret Cancer Centre has significantly reduced the length of stay for gynecologic cancer patients with malignant bowel obstruction. They transitioned to a model of care where people with the condition, or at risk of it, are managed as outpatients by a multidisciplinary team of doctors and nurses.
The Interprofessional Malignant Bowel Management Program was introduced at the centre to identify people with or at risk of malignant bowel obstruction. This condition is a common complication in women with gynecologic cancers that can lead to serious illness or, in severe cases, death. The program triages patients according to their diagnosis or risk level, and then manages their care using a standardized approach.
As part of the program, the team created clinical guidelines to ensure standardized care for patients both in the hospital and at home. The team also created treatment algorithms for patients at risk of developing malignant bowel obstruction. In addition, multidisciplinary case conferences helped to ensure treatment consistency between healthcare teams. Resources for patients were also developed to help manage their symptoms.
Team Members: Stephanie Lheureux, Amit Oza, Yeh Chen Lee, Nazlin Jivraj, Terri Stuart-McEwan, Catherine O’Brien, Tanya Chawla, Eran Shlomovitz, Jenny Lau, Stephane Laframboise, Sarah E. Ferguson, Jennifer Croke, Johane P. Allard, Preeti Dhar, Valerie Bowering, Katherine Karakasis, Pamela Savage, Lisa Tinker, Sarah Buchanan, Pamela Ng, Neesha Dhani, Marcus Butler
Video to showcase Princess Margaret Cancer Centre’s initiative
Honourable Mention
Regional Cancer Care Northwest: Standardizing Telemedicine Visits to Ensure Access to Quality Initiatives and Services
Regional Cancer Care Northwest is improving quality of care for cancer patients through an assessment tool to standardize telemedicine visits in the region.
The standardized assessment tool was piloted at Riverside Health Care in Fort Frances, working in collaboration between each local hospital site and the regional cancer centre. The staff arranges for patients to complete the assessment using the standardized tool just before virtually meeting with their nurse in the host site in Thunder Bay. The complete assessment is then shared with the specialist before each telemedicine visit.
The information shared with the specialist includes the patient’s vitals, height and weight, and Best Possible Medication History (BPMH), as well as quality and service indicators such as smoking status, nursing notes and results from the Your Symptoms Matter survey, a standardized symptom management survey.
Team Members: David McConnell, Karen Roberts, Susie Hamilton, Heather Neilson-Clayton, Jeannie Faubert, Glenna Morand, Andrea Docherty, Trina Diner
Video to showcase Regional Cancer Care Northwest’s initiative
