Open AccessShared-care model for complex chronic haematological malignancies
Author(s) -
Verna Cheung,
Nancy Siddiq,
Rebecca Devlin,
Caroline McNamara,
Vikas Gupta
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
canadian oncology nursing journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2368-8076
pISSN - 1181-912X
DOI - 10.5737/23688076312165174
Subject(s) - medicine , shared care , chronic care , health care , family medicine , quality of life (healthcare) , disease , nursing , chronic disease , intensive care medicine , primary care , economics , economic growth
Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) are a group of rare Philadelphia-negative chronic leukemias. Disease rarity has resulted in limited expertise concentrated in specialist centres. Patients are often referred to such expert centres for diagnostic issues, complex decision-making, access to novel drugs through clinical trials, and supportive care. Attending such appointments may increase financial and travel burden, increase caregiver stress, and negatively impact quality of life. To address this, the MPN program at Princess Margaret (PM) Cancer Centre has implemented a shared-care model, working with local healthcare providers to provide ongoing management, and supportive care for MPN patients closer to home. This decreases patient travel burden, while maintaining high-quality patient-centered care. In this article we share our experience implementing the shared-care model. This model is potentially applicable to other chronic hematological malignancies and rare chronic diseases. The ultimate goal of shared-care is not to centralize care, but instead to build a community of accessible care for the patient.