Consultative Workshop Proceedings of the Canadian Team to Improve Community-Based Cancer Care along the Continuum

The multidisciplinary pan-Canadian canimpact (Canadian Team to Improve Community-Based Cancer Care Along the Continuum) group is studying how to improve cancer care for patients in the primary care setting. A consultative workshop hosted by the team took place on 31 March and 1 April 2016 in Toronto, Ontario. The workshop included 74 participants from 9 provinces, with representation from primary care, cancer specialties, international liaisons, knowledge users, researchers, and patients. On the agenda were presentations from canimpact phase 1 projects including (1) qualitative studies on the perspectives of survivors and health care providers about continuity and coordination of care; (2) an environmental scan and systematic review of existing initiatives designed to improve care integration; (3) population-based administrative health database analyses related to breast cancer diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship; and (4) a qualitative study on the experiences, desired roles, and needs of primary health care providers with respect to personalized medicine. In addition, there were presentations on two possible intervention approaches, including nurse navigation and the eConsult system. Based on the information presented, participants worked in small groups to develop recommendations for phase 2, which will involve development and evaluation of an intervention to improve the integration of care between primary care providers and cancer specialists. After a process of deliberation and voting, workshop participants recommended testing the implementation of eConsult in the oncology setting to determine whether it improves relationships, communication, knowledge sharing, and connections between family doctors and cancer specialists; and, to improve system navigation, evaluating eConsult in existing nurse navigator programs, if feasible.