The Effect of a Lung Cancer Care Coordination Program on Timeliness of Care

The diagnosis and staging of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) often includes multiple scans and procedures that might require many weeks to complete. The Cancer Care Coordination Program (CCCP) was established at a Veterans Affairs hospital to improve timeliness of care. This program reduced the interval between first abnormal image and initiation of treatment by 25 days. Background: Timeliness of care improves patient satisfaction and might improve outcomes. The CCCP was established in November 2007 to improve timeliness of care of NSCLC at the Veterans Affairs Connecticut Healthcare System (VACHS). Patients and Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort analysis of patients diagnosed with NSCLC at VACHS between 2005 and 2010. We compared timeliness of care and stage at diagnosis before and after the implementation of the CCCP. Results: Data from 352 patients were analyzed: 163 with initial abnormal imaging between January 1, 2005 and October 31, 2007, and 189 with imaging conducted between November 1, 2007 and December 31, 2010. Variables associated with a longer interval between the initial abnormal image and the initiation of therapy were: (1) earlier stage (mean of 130 days for stages I/II vs. 87 days for stages III/IV; P<.0001); (2) lack of cancer-related symptoms (145 vs. 60 days; P<.0001); (3) presence of more than 1 medical comorbidity (123 vs. 82; P=.0002); and (4) depression (126 vs. 98 days; P=.029). The percent of patients diagnosed at stages I/II increased from 32% to 48% (P=.006) after establishment of the CCCP. In a multivariate model adjusting for stage, histology, reason for imaging, and presence of primary care provider, implementation of the CCCP resulted in a mean reduction of 25 days between first abnormal image and the initiation of treatment (126 to 101 days; P=.015). Conclusion: A centralized, multidisciplinary, hospital-based CCCP can improve timeliness of NSCLC care, and help ensure that early stage lung cancers are diagnosed and treated.