The CATCH: In Support of Timeliness to Care

Beth Trebilcock, RN, OCN

Beth’s CATCH was instrumental in timeliness of care and a true example of navigation’s impact on patient care.

—Navigation Director

A CATCH is a navigation success story where a navigation tactic improved a patient’s situation. The CATCH Initiative, short for Catching & Addressing Threats to Care & Health, tracks and acknowledges positive outcomes of navigation tactics.

The Catch of the Month

Background: A patient’s required presurgical imaging appointment had been cancelled.

The Incident: Beth was reviewing the patient’s chart 48 hours prior to surgery when she noted the required CT scan for surgery clearance was cancelled and never rescheduled.

The CATCH (Intervention): Understanding that the surgery would be cancelled causing a delay in care if the patient did not have the required CT scan beforehand, Beth was able to secure insurance authorization and schedule the CT scan for the same day and within 3 hours of identifying the cancelled CT scan.

The Importance of the CATCH

This navigator’s attention to detail and initiative prevented a delay of the patient’s surgery. Timeliness to care in the oncology space is crucial and can have a huge impact on patient outcomes. Not only can a delay in treatment negatively impact a patient’s overall outcome , it can severely affect a patient’s level of stress and anxiety as they desperately want the cancer removed from their body.

This patient was able to avoid unnecessary stress due to the navigator’s quick action and superb care coordination skills. Attention to detail, timeliness to care, and care coordination are all skills navigators use daily to catch issues and intervene, thus positively impacting patient care.

Tell us about the navigation tactics that improve the lives of your patients!