Keeping the doors open to avoid delays in cancer care: Nurse-led innovations for oncology patients during COVID-19 Meeting Abstract
| Authors: | Porinchak, M.; Curran, D. M.; Heffernan, N.; O'Dell, M; Rafikh, S.; St-Cyr, K. |
| Abstract Title: | Keeping the doors open to avoid delays in cancer care: Nurse-led innovations for oncology patients during COVID-19 |
| Meeting Title: | 47th Annual Congress of the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) |
| Abstract: | Travel restrictions and fear of exposure to COVID-19 are barriers that contribute to patients delaying vital cancer care. Access to non-emergent care at this NCI-designated Cancer Center was constrained at the height of the pandemic to ensure the safety of patients and employees. Nurses in the Patient Access Department redesigned workflows in collaboration with physicians and hospital leadership to prioritize new appointments. Patient Access Nurses coordinate new visits to ensure that patients have access to appropriate specialty providers in a suitable timeframe based on clinical criteria. During the pandemic, nurses collaborated with hospital leadership to design and implement new workflows prioritizing in-person appointments consistent with the patient's presentation. New routes of access to oncology care were created to mitigate delays in diagnosis and treatment. Nurse-led interventions included the development of Access Frameworks which utilize clinical criteria to direct patients toward in-person vs virtual consults. The Rapid Biopsy Program expedited care for undiagnosed patients. Patients who could not take advantage of these options had access to an Oncology Nurse to ensure they were directed to reliable care locally. This presentation will include data to demonstrate the positive impact of these interventions, which allowed patients to receive cancer care during unprecedented times when many barriers existed. At the start of the COVID-19 crisis, there was a 150% increase in calls that were triaged to a nurse. Telehealth visits grew from less than 1% to 85% of scheduled new visits. A total of 83 patients were scheduled in the Rapid Biopsy Program to date and 64 of these patients went on to receive further care at our hospital. Patient Access nurses played a vital public health role during COVID-19 by preventing delayed cancer care. Patients valued clinical guidance from Oncology nurses during distressing times after learning they had a cancer diagnosis or progression of disease. As a result of this collaboration, hospital leadership has requested ongoing nursing input to create expanded access pathways for efficiency and growth during clinical restoration. Other centers may benefit from these interventions to prevent delays in care. Nurses developed novel workflows for patients across the US to safely obtain cancer care during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. |
| Keywords: | oncologic nursing; california; cancer patients; congresses and conferences -- california; covid-19 pandemic; treatment delay -- prevention and control |
| Journal Title: | Oncology Nursing Forum |
| Volume: | 49 |
| Issue: | 2 |
| Meeting Dates: | 2022 Apr 27-May 1 |
| Meeting Location: | Anaheim, CA |
| ISSN: | 0190-535X |
| Publisher: | Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) |
| Date Published: | 2022-03-01 |
| Start Page: | E38 |
| End Page: | E39 |
| Language: | English |
| DOI: | 10.1188/22.Onf.E2 |
| PROVIDER: | EBSCOhost |
| PROVIDER: | cinahl |
| PUBMED: | 35191905 |
| DOI/URL: | |
| Notes: | Meeting Abstract: P67 -- in PDF named "2022 ONS Congress Poster Abstracts" -- Source: Cinahl |
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