Efficiency hub

Every year, almost 15,000 working-age people in Denmark are diagnosed with cancer. Three in four people experience challenges returning to work, and one in three say managers are ill-equipped to handle employees being diagnosed with cancer.

Retinoblastomas have a high mortality rate across French-speaking sub-Saharan African countries, but a 95% cure rate in high-income countries. These poor outcomes are attributed to late diagnosis and treatment, refusal and abandonment of treatment, and poor health infrastructure.

The UK has lower survival rates for many types of cancer than the rest of Europe, partly due to delays in diagnosis. When people present with non-specific symptoms, general practitioners may find it difficult to determine whether further clinical investigations are needed. This may delay access to treatment, limit treatment options and reduce survival rates. To address this, Macmillan Cancer Support developed a Cancer Decision Support tool that calculates a person’s risk of having an undiagnosed cancer based on symptoms, medical history and demographic data, and helps GPs consider whether further testing or specialist referral is needed.

A group of researchers and clinicians in Sweden secured funding to develop a nationwide eLibrary of chemotherapy regimens. The library has enabled healthcare professionals to standardise care and reduced the duplication of work across cancer centres.

In 2022, to mark three years of the Hub, All.Can International examined the lessons that can be learnt from the collection of examples featured on the Efficiency Hub, which are now over 40. Initiatives are selected from across the entire patient care pathway, from diagnosis to palliative care and survivorship; they can be from any country. This think piece, written by The Health Policy Partnership with the input from All.Can members, highlights the kind of solutions that have been identified to address some of the most prominent challenges facing cancer care.

The oncology network in Tuscany, Italy has been working since 2013 to integrate complementary therapies into cancer care pathways, enabling people with cancer to manage symptoms and side effects of conventional anticancer treatments in a safe way.

Haematologists in Rome developed a care pathway to improve continuity of care between the hospital and home for people with blood cancer.

In England, an online system allows people undergoing chemotherapy to report side effects and receive advice on managing them.

A team of urology specialists in Berlin set up a regional network to improve access to innovative treatments for metastatic prostate cancer. In 2022 the service is being now expanded to include other cancers and will available across Germany.