Navigation

On a daily basis, navigators are asked to provide many varied, and sometimes very novel, services for their patients, according to Penny Daugherty, RN, MS, OCN, ONN-CG, an oncology nurse navigator at the Northside Hospital Cancer Institute in Atlanta.

At the recent AONN+ Annual Conference, experts in oncology navigation convened virtually with conference attendees to offer their insights in furthering the efficacy of navigation. This monograph will review the proceedings from 4 key sessions covering the timely topics of telehealth, mental health and the oncology patient, prehabilitation and rehabilitation, and value-based oncology care.

The American Cancer Society aims to implement navigation programs abroad through the BEACON Initiative.

When it comes to cancer care, organizations tend to define value in terms of objective factors like efficacy, toxicity, and cost. But according to Elizabeth Franklin, PhD, MSW, executive director of the Cancer Policy Institute at the Cancer Support Community in Washington, DC, patients tend to define value differently when it comes to their care.

Navigation services can improve timeliness to treatment and the patient experience – an important factor for patients during a vulnerable time in their lives.

Prioritizing quality over quantity of care, value-based care and the alternative payment models it incorporates are complicated concepts to master. A primer for navigators dispelled some of this complexity.

One of the top questions posed to members of the leadership team at the Academy of Oncology Nurse & Patient Navigators (AONN+) is: “What is the caseload that oncology navigators should be carrying?” According to Danelle Johnston, MSN, RN, HON-ONN-CG, OCN, when the leadership team ultimately realized they did not have a good answer to that question, they identified the need for a navigation acuity tool.

Meet Dolores and Zhonnet. Between them, they have over 30 years of expertise working as patient navigators for underserved female cancer survivors in an urban setting. This is their story.

Patient satisfaction. Provider satisfaction. Treatment adherence. Care coordination. Learn about these other positive results of a successful nonclinical navigator.

Payers and hospital systems can benefit tremendously through enhanced patient experience, clinical outcomes, and return on investment that navigation programs provide.