Background:
A consultation with over 80 consumers at a tertiary oncology health service identified the need to increase support for patients to navigate their care. Patients and carers told us they face difficulties and uncertainty about where to turn for information and support, and who can assist with minor problems. Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre (Peter Mac) uses a secure online Patient Portal where patients access key information about their care. However, many patients face challenges in setting up and learning how to use the Patient Portal.
Implementation:
The Patient and Carer Support (PACS) Service was developed to improve the patient experience through better service navigation, access to information and support networks. A part-time PACS officer was recruited to provide in-person, phone, and email support. The service aims to solve minor problems before they become serious challenges and barriers to better health outcomes. It also provides dedicated support sign up to the online Patient Portal. All contacts are anonymously recorded in a secure database. Patients and carers are given the opportunity to complete a digital survey to provide feedback about the service.
Results:
In the first two months of service PACS provided support to 816 people (average 19 contacts per 5-hour day. Most enquiries were related to Patient Portal sign up (27%) or other Patient Portal query (18%). Other common requests included cancer information (15%) and clinical questions (9%). Patient feedback indicates very high satisfaction. 100% of patients who completed the feedback survey (n = 41) said the service was ‘Very helpful’ and 92% of patients reported their enquiry to be ‘fully resolved’. Patients stated, “it was very helpful to find a person to help me rather than have to manage by phone contact” and “[the service] helped me a great deal to navigate the system”.