Navigation

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.

In the United States, navigation is now an established part of the healthcare system. But in other countries it is still a brand-new concept, according to Nancy Peña, OPN-CG, Founder and Director of Navegación de Pacientes Internacional (NPI) in Guatemala and oncology navigator at Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center.

“Where a woman lives should not determine whether she lives.”

Understanding your role (and setting boundaries) allows you to remain focused on the tenets of oncology navigation—providing compassionate patient-centered care.