Towards new models of cancer care in Australia: lessons from Victoria's response to the COVID-19 pandemic

Craig Underhill; Phillip Parente; Grant McArthur; Andrew Haydon; Sue-Anne McLachlan; Zee Wan Wong; Eva Segelov; Victorian COVID-19 Cancer Network

doi:10.1111/imj.15012

Towards new models of cancer care in Australia: lessons from Victoria's response to the COVID-19 pandemic

Intern Med J. 2020 Oct;50(10):1282-1285. doi: 10.1111/imj.15012. Epub 2020 Sep 20.

Authors

Craig Underhill^{1

2}, Phillip Parente³, Grant McArthur^{4

5

6}, Andrew Haydon⁷, Sue-Anne McLachlan⁸, Zee Wan Wong⁹, Eva Segelov¹⁰; Victorian COVID-19 Cancer Network

Affiliations

¹ Border Medical Oncology, Albury-Wodonga Regional Cancer Centre, Albury, New South Wales, Australia.
² University of NSW Rural Clinical School, Albury, New South Wales, Australia.
³ Department of Oncology, Monash University and Eastern Health, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
⁴ Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
⁵ Sir Peter MacCallum Department of Oncology, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
⁶ Department of Medical Oncology, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
⁷ Department of Medical Oncology, Alfred Hospital Melbourne and Central and Eastern Medical School Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
⁸ Department of Oncology, St Vincent's Hospital Melbourne and Department of Medicine, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
⁹ Oncology Unit, Peninsula Health, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
¹⁰ Department of Oncology, Monash University and Monash Health, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

Abstract

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Health and Human Services Victoria (DHHS), the Monash Partners Comprehensive Cancer Consortium (MPCCC) and Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre (VCCC) pooled their combined infrastructure to establish the Victorian COVID-19 Cancer Network (VCCN) backed by a Taskforce of expert members. In a few short months, this state-wide clinical network implemented a number of new models of care including clinics to manage acutely presenting cancer patients away from emergency departments, chemotherapy in the home, telehealth models and addressing sustainability of clinical trials.

Keywords: COVID-19; cancer; health services administration; tele-health.

MeSH terms

Betacoronavirus
COVID-19
Communication
Cooperative Behavior
Coronavirus Infections / epidemiology*
Home Care Services / organization & administration*
Humans
Neoplasms / epidemiology*
Neoplasms / therapy*
Pandemics
Patient Care Team / organization & administration
Pneumonia, Viral / epidemiology*
Referral and Consultation
SARS-CoV-2
Telemedicine / organization & administration
Victoria / epidemiology