Annual Report 2023
Patient Flow Support Center
Hiroyuki Fujimoto, Eriko Satomi, Ayako Mori, Tsutomu Hayashi, Hidehito Horinouchi, Shintaro Iwata, Emi Fujii, Michiko Ohki, Takeyuki Wada, Sawako Kaku, Rieko Shimizu, Natsuko Moroi, Naoko Matsunaga, Miho Koitabashi, Mariko Shimizu, Masako Yabumoto, Ryoko Maeda, Yukimi Ikeda, Akane Sakamoto, Sanae Sawase, Daiki Murakami, Mayu Takada, Reiko Hanada, Fumiko Onishi, Asuka Kijima, Yukari Tokuhisa, Yoshiko Takahashi, Shiori Yamaoka,, Mami Hoshikawa, Momoko Takahashi, Naoko Arii, Mari Suzuki, Saemi Ide, Yuka Ebihara, Ayako Hara, Reiko Kojima, Sayaka Jin-no, Sayaka Kurata, Kana Ineno, Akiko Ueno, Uma Inatomi, Chieko Kamiya, Ayumi Terada, Ayako Taneshima, Naomi Terada, Mayumi Terayama
Introduction
During cancer treatment and management, 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. In 2021, the Supportive Care Development Center consisted of three subdivisions: the Center for Physician Referral and Medical Social Service, the Center for Patient Flow Management, and the Center for Supportive Care Service.
The Team and What We Do
We work as a multidisciplinary team with physicians, nurses, medical social workers, and clinical psychologists. We provide the following services:
Center for Physician Referral and Medical Social Service
We work as a multidisciplinary team with physicians, nurses, medical social workers, and clinical psychologists. We provide the following services:
1. Consultation, Counseling and Support Service
Face-to-face and telephone counseling are available. Any inquiries related to cancer such as cancer treatment and financial, social and psychological issues are willingly accepted. We also make efforts to support special cases such as job-seeking and infertility issues. Since 2013, we have cooperated with a “Hello Work Navigator” of a Public Employment Security Office, a job-finding advisor, and social insurance labor consultants to help cancer patients find new jobs and to provide professional advice regarding the compatibility of cancer therapy and work. Moreover, we collaborate with Rare Cancer Center Hotline.
2. Group programs for patients and their families
3. Multidisciplinary team support beyond departments
4. Collaborative support with other hospitals and institutions
5. Educational web seminar
6. Management of patient referrals from local hospital and coordination of transfers and referrals within our hospital.
The total number of inquiries from April 2023 to March 2024 was 22,120. There were 13,845 new cases, 18,372 of which involved patients registered in the NCC Hospital. We address various problems of cancer patients and their families
Center for Patient Flow Management
Center for Patient Flow Management is in charge of centralized bed control in our hospital in coordination with ward managers.
1) Pre-admission support is being promoted in cooperation with Center for Supportive Care Service, while discharge support is being promoted in cooperation with Center for Physician Referral and Medical Social Service.
2) A bed occupancy analysis tool for bed control was established in cooperation with the Medical Information Department.
3) An emergency hospital bed coordination system has been established based on efficient association with clinical departments and hospital wards to manage COVID-19-related reduction of active beds.
Center for Supportive Care Service
Center for Supportive Care Service works with nurses, psychologists, medical social workers, and specialists from various professions to provide support for various anxieties, worries, and troubles during and post-treatment period of every patient.
1) The average daily number of patients using the consultation program at Center for Supportive Care Service was 217 in FY2023. This was an increase compared to FY2022 (210 patients).
2) The number of participants for the regular programs in FY2023 is also increasing compared to FY2022 (Table 1). Additionally, nursing consultation, AYA pier, parent and child support, anticancer drug treatment support, lymphedema care class, clinical trials class, etc., were also conducted. In addition, the orientation for perioperative outpatient and pre-admission support is provided by video viewing on a tablet device.
3) Reproductive support team is working to support our hospital’s patients and is also in charge of cooperation with other reproductive health care facilities.
Table 1. The number of participants in the regular programs
Research Activities
Center for Physician Referral and Medical Social Service
For a research project titled "Support for Cancer Patients in the AYA to Middle Age Generation," we were in charge of support for work compatibility and promoted the construction of an online consultation system. The research was adopted by the Yuumi Memorial Foundation for Home Health Care for a grant as "Research on home care for cancer patients in the COVID-19 pandemic," and research has been initiated. We have held 19 webinars on regional cooperation and 7 conferences on cooperation with medical institutions.
Center for Supportive Care Service
We conducted a survey among doctors at the hospital to assess the usefulness of perioperative outpatient interventions. 67 doctors participated, with over 90% of them agreeing that perioperative outpatient interventions are beneficial in understanding patients' preoperative history and cognitive function, as well as in improving doctors' work efficiency. However, patient guidance on prevention of delirium and smoking cessation was rated low.
A prospective questionnaire survey is being prepared to evaluate the satisfaction of users of the perioperative outpatient intervention. The study has been approved by the Ethics Review Committee and will be conducted in the following year.
We have established a system for online and email consultations as a reproductive support team.
Preparations are underway to conduct a survey on patient experience (PX survey) as an objective evaluation of patients who have undergone inpatient treatment at the hospital via the Patient Support Centre. This survey will be conducted in the coming year.
Education
We perform an "on-the-job training" for new staff by senior staff in charge of nursing consultation and perioperative support unit.
We lecture and act as facilitators in seminars for the education of cancer counseling and support specialists.
Future Prospects
Center for Physician Referral and Medical Social Service
We practice high-quality physician referral, cancer counseling and support, develop models and disseminate the results throughout Japan. We are creating a database to address various inquiries and are developing systems for consultations not only by our counselors but also through IT.
Center for Patient Flow Management
Center for Patient Flow Management aims to achieve several goals within this year.
1) To develop an efficient system to maintain an appropriate hospital bed usage rate, especially during weekends and long holidays.
2) To increase the number of patients who receive pre-admission and post-discharge support by medical staff.
Center for Supportive Care Service
The Patient Support Center offers multidisciplinary team support units and patient classes to meet the various unmet needs of patients with cancer. Still, it is essential to evaluate whether our efforts are appropriate and whether they result in a good patient experience.
We aim to improve patient satisfaction by understanding the patient journey of each patient with cancer and improving the patient experience.