Grant: Operating Grant

A key component of quality cancer care is timely access to diagnostic and clinical resources. This requires the efficient coordination of services and utilization of resources. Configuring an effective network of cancer care services across a large geographic region presents complex managerial and planning challenges, and has a direct impact on the quality of patient care. This is a very relevant problem for a budget-constrained public healthcare system facing an increasing demand from a growing and aging population. Judicious decisions are required to design a system that meets the needs of the public while maintaining high quality of care. The primary decisions include where to locate facilities, and how to allocate highly specialized resources and staff to each location. The objective of this proposal is to develop and evaluate a methodological framework to determine the strategic configuration of provincial cancer treatment services. This methodology must account for current and future clinical practice, demographic characteristics and geographic considerations. To integrate these considerations requires an evidence-based, data-driven approach supported by analytical methodologies from the operations research field. Failure to incorporate these sophisticated approaches may result in decisions that could result in unnecessary wasteful costs and worse yet, compromise patient care. This proposal is novel in that it is comprehensive, targeted specifically to cancer services, based on advanced analytical methodologies and has an applied focus. This is reflected in the multi-disciplinary research team which includes researchers, clinicians, decision makers and health service leaders from the British Columbia Cancer Agency (BCCA) and researchers (faculty, PhD students and Post Doctoral Fellows) in operations research from the Sauder School of Business at UBC. Results will be tested and implemented at the BCCA.