Annual Report 2020
Supportive Care Development Center
Narikazu Boku, Hiroyuki Fujimoto, Emi Fujii, Naoko Inamura, Shiori Yamaoka, Narumi Katsumura, Mami Akutsu, Momoko Takahashi, Chihoko Nemoto, Chihiro Dei, Kurumi Jyo, Akiko Mizuta, Erika Onuki, Naoko Arii, Meiko Mazaki, Miwako Saito, Yuki Yoshimoto, Nami Ikenaga, Chiyuki Sasaki, Sayaka Jin-no, Mikiko Odaira, Sayaka Kurata
Introduction
During the treatment and management of cancer patients, there are various unmet needs which cannot be solved by each patient just visiting a doctor; it is generally recognized that taking a team approach to these problems is very important. In September 2016, the Supportive Care Development Center was opened as the team medicine base in the National Cancer Center Hospital. We supply many types of support, not only to patients but also to their families, in collaboration with doctors and other team members consisting of many dedicated professionals.
The Team and What We Do
The number of patients and their families visiting our department has been increasing gradually, reaching a peak of 126.1/day in January 2020 (thereafter slightly decreased due to coronavirus infection). Each established program’s annual number of users was as follows: Preoperative Management (6898), Nurse Consultation (861), Consultation Counselling and Support Center (4028), Pharmacist Consultation (3967), Nutritionist Consultation (1229), Rehabilitation (400), Appearance Center (323), Palliative Medicine (2068), Psycho-Oncology (2885), Anesthesiology (4736), Lymphedema Management (1091) and Physicians Referral Service Office (549). We have regular classes for Adolescents & Young Adults, Pain Care, Support for Children and Parents, Nutrition, Anti-cancer Agents, Pancreato-biliary Cancer, Body Image for Breast Cancer Patients, Relaxation, and Lymphedema Management. We recently started classes to deepen the understanding of clinical trial studies by patients and their families.
Due to the spread of coronavirus infection disease, we offered the patient regular classes with a reservation and online system. We changed the preoperative group orientation to the orientation by an animated presentation created by us in the patient support center using a tablet terminal.
Considering that we should be aware of our research and be a model for cancer care staff in other hospitals, we continue revising our daily duty work as a result of the PDCA (plan-do-check-act) cycle.
In the Preoperative Management, we introduced the interview using a preliminary examination and a check sheet while securing quality. We cooperated with nurses and MSWs for telephone consultation duties in the Consultation Support Center. The cooperation with nurses and MSWs led to professional consultations.
Research activities
- We determined the factors that influenced decision making in terms of fecundity preservation.
- In the Preoperative Management, we analyzed the risk factors for the postoperative delirium.
Clinical trials
The protocol of retrospective studies for evaluating the clinical activities of the Supportive Care Development Center was approved at the end of 2017. We conducted several retrospective studies described above.
Education
New staff and three nurses from three hospital wards participate in the nurse consultation and pre-operative management programs and receive on-the- job training under the supervision of the staff of the Supportive Care Development Center.
Future Prospects
We will continue to improve and develop new programs and to be a model for other hospitals caring for cancer patients, as well as promote collaboration with the patient’s regional medical facilities.
Figure 1. Activity of the Supportive Care Development Center