Sharing post-AML consolidation supportive therapy with local centers reduces patient travel burden without compromising outcomes

Shared-care model for complex chronic haematological malignancies

“…Care coordination can take on many forms, ranging from implementation of a care coordinator/patient-navigator as a single point of contact for both the patient and interdisciplinary team, to the utilization of information technologies such as telemedicine (Gorin et al, 2017;Khera et al, 2017;Chumbler et al, 2007;Girault et al, 2015). Studies have demonstrated that coordination of care within the context of shared-care results in improved health-related quality of life, fewer unexpected hospitalizations (Chumber et al, 2007), decreased travel burden (Hershenfeld et al, 2017), and improved understanding and knowledge translation between the consulting team and local providers (Nielsen et al, 2003). This in turn builds a community of practice, rather than having care centralized, allowing the majority of care to be delivered closer to home in a safe manner, increased patient satisfaction, and better overall quality of life (Gorin et al, 2017).…”

“…Shared-care is defined as the "joint participation of primary/local and specialized care providers in the planned delivery of care for patients with chronic conditions, underpinned by enhanced information exchange" (Hall et al, 2011, p.554-555). The shared-care model is not a new concept, having been utilized in various diseases including malignant hematology, diabetes, mental illness, and substance abuse (Hershenfeld et al, 2017;Khera et al, 2017;Smith et al, 2008). This model of care allows patients access to specialized treatment while maintaining a connection with their local care provider for routine care such as medication dose adjustment, management of co-morbidities, monitoring of blood counts, and transfusion support (Khera et al, 2017;Gorin et al, 2017).…”

“…Attending PM can be burdensome for patients due to the distance, costs, and other difficulties (e.g., caregiver burden, arranging for alternative transportation). Establishing a partnership with local hospitals through shared-care helps mitigate some of these concerns (Hershenfeld et al, 2017). Shared-care also facilitates knowledge translation to the local care team and allows patients to continue to receive ongoing supportive care such as blood count checks, transfusion support as required, renewal of medication, and dose adjustments at their local hospital.…”

“…Shared-care also facilitates knowledge translation to the local care team and allows patients to continue to receive ongoing supportive care such as blood count checks, transfusion support as required, renewal of medication, and dose adjustments at their local hospital. This in turn decreases travel time and the interruption to the daily life of the patient and their caregiver (Khera et al, 2017;Hershenfeld et al, 2017).…”

“…T he purpose of this paper is to describe the shared-care model utilized at Princess Margaret (PM) Cancer Centre for patients diagnosed with a Philadelphia-negative myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN). The aim of the MPN shared-care model is to implement high-quality care to allow patients to receive coordinated treatment from both the specialized oncology centre and their local shared-care provider (Hershenfeld et al, 2017;Khera et al, 2017). In this paper, we first define the potential elements of the shared-care model in the MPN program.…”