Problem: Improving efficiency of health care systems implies the allocation of limited available resources in such a way that it prioritises interventions providing the greatest benefit to patients and therefore enhancing the overall value (i.e. effectiveness and efficiency) of cancer care. That is a challenge requiring major changes not only at the policy level, but also at the level of individual health care providers.
Objective: To provide policy makers and managers dealing with cancer care with a portfolio of actions (i.e., interventions worth implementing in the light of demonstrated effectiveness) they may want to consider to improve the provision of care for cancer patients, and outlining “real life” examples of initiatives undertaken by cancer centers in the EU to make their organizations more efficient. Consistently with the nature of the target audience, we mostly focused on interventions concerning the organisation and delivery of care, rather than the diagnostic or therapeutic procedures/interventions to be used at the clinical level.
Implementation status: Recommendations
iPAAC