Author: Clin. Ass. Pro. Kelly Smith – University of Pennsylvania (PENN) Expert, Leader of Oncology Center of Excellence Project at Vinmec Times City International Hospital.
Dr. Kelly is an experienced and dedicated oncologist who is passionate about global health, education, research and delivering compassionate, patient-focused care. Dr. Kelly is working at the Oncology Department, Vinmec Times City International Hospital and actively promoting the establishment of an Oncology Center of Excellence (COE). She is interested in sharing her knowledge and experience with medical professionals and patients at Vinmec in order to improve the quality of cancer care for the Vietnamese people. Vinmec would like to share an article by Clinical Associate Professor Kelly Smith discussing the benefits of an Oncology Center of Excellence.
What is an Oncology Center of Excellence?
The designation as an Oncology Center of Excellence recognizes organizations that demonstrate excellence in patient-centered, coordinated care for patients undergoing cancer treatment with the goal of improving outcomes. Programs must meet multiple strict quality measures in order to achieve accreditation including but not limited to data collection and quality improvement initiatives, multidisciplinary cancer case conferences, supportive care programs such as palliative care and nutrition, patient education, cancer screening and clinical research.
A hospital, whether in the US and Vietnam, must meet the same rigorous criteria to be eligible to be an Oncology COE. Many clinics and hospitals in the United States, Europe, Australia and Japan have earned accreditation as an Oncology COE, however, this concept is new in Vietnam. Vinmec is the first hospital in Vietnam to attempt to build an Oncology COE. It will be a difficult challenge but fortunately the leadership and medical staff at Vinmec are dedicated to achieving this important distinction. It is an ambitious goal and will take several years of hard work to accomplish.
Once we get accredited as an Oncology COE patients should be confident that they will receive personalized and compassionate care delivered by a well-trained multi-disciplinary team using an evidenced-based approach. Patients will have access to clinical trials and cutting edge treatment as well as supportive services such as support groups and palliative care.
What will the doctor from University of Pennsylvania do specifically to build an Oncology COE at Vinmec?
I have many ideas about how we can develop the oncology program at Vinmec Times City International Hospital and improve the quality of cancer care in the community.
- Physician and nursing education: Vinmec is partnering with faculty at the University of Pennsylvania to create a comprehensive continuing medical education program for physicians and nurses in order to improve the knowledge and skills of the medical team. We currently have weekly lectures and case presentations. A pathologist and radiologist have recently traveled to University of Pennsylvania for intensive training in breast cancer. One of our medical oncologists will travel to University of Pennsylvania next year to learn about treating breast cancer from Penn faculty. We plan on starting a quarterly journal club and a mini-internship on breast cancer this fall.
- Care pathways: University of Pennsylvania has created up-to-date, evidence based pathways for treatment of most common cancers. We are in the process of implementing these pathways at Vinmec to ensure all patients get treatment according to international standards.
- Access to Penn experts to help with challenging cases: We can ask for guidance from experts at University of Pennsylvania when we have difficult cases. Patients no longer need to travel to Singapore, Korea or the US for a second opinion. They can get expert input quickly and inexpensively due to our collaboration with Penn.
- Quality improvement: We are dedicated to continuous quality improvement. With assistance from the Quality Management Department we are tracking numerous quality measures and developing quality improvement projects.
- Supportive services: Coping with a cancer diagnosis and the side effects of treatment is difficult for patients and their families. We want to do everything we can to help patients navigate the health care system while providing psychosocial support and referrals to community resources. In order to provide our patients with useful supportive services, we are developing a nurse navigator program and a social work program. In the near future we plan on offering support groups, a peer-to-peer support program and a survivorship program.
- Community outreach, patient education and cancer screening: These are all important ways we can improve the health of the community. We are initially focusing on developing our breast cancer screening program. We want to educate Vietnamese women on the importance of breast cancer screening and early detection. In the future we plan on focusing on other common cancers that benefit from screening and early detection such as cervical cancer and colon cancer.
- Research: Promoting research is very important in oncology since we need to discover more effective, less toxic treatments for our patients. Combining my research training and experience with University of Pennsylvania’s expertise and resources, we plan to expand clinical research activities in the oncology department. A robust clinical research program will enable us to offer patients hope when they have exhausted all available treatment options.
