| Description of Indicator | Percent of cancer resection reports for all disease sites types received within 14 calendar days of date of surgery, 2016 |
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| Figures/Graphs | Figures 1 and 2 |
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| Rationale for Measurement | Timeliness is an important component of quality assurance and positive patient outcomes. Almost all cancer patients begin their involvement with the cancer system through a series of diagnostic tests. These will likely include imaging and, in some cases, removal of tissue or cells from the body to be examined so the nature and extent of the cancer can be determined. Publically reporting the turnaround time for pathology provides a foundation for program planning, quality monitoring, and to enhance patient care by improving efficiency of clinical processes. It also brings accountability into the system to ensure that the patient receives the appropriate diagnosis in a timely manner. |
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| Evidence/References for Rationale | Cancer Care Ontario has measured wait times in cancer surgery, radiation, and systemic treatment for almost a decade, leading to increased resourcing and improved efficiencies, resulting in more timely treatment. CCO has emphasized the importance of measuring wait times in relation to the entire patient journey. Pathologic assessment of cancer specimens is a critical component of the journey and measuring pathology turnaround time aligns with that goal. As a result, the pathology turnaround time performance indicator for all malignant colorectal resections received in synoptic format was added starting April 1, 2013 and was expanded to all disease sites in April 2014. This indicator was developed by CCO’s Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Program Committee to help ensure that pathologists have the resources needed to complete reports in a timely manner. Measuring access through wait times is one way of gauging the performance of Ontario’s health care system and CCO’s performance improvement model provides a structure that enables the monitoring and managing performance by setting benchmarks and ensuring clinical accountability. |
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| Calculations for the Indicator | Number of days from 'surgery date' to 'report sign off date' of intial 'Final Report' for all cancer resection reports received / Cancer resection reports received within 14 calendar days from date of surgery X 100 = Total cancer resection reports received |
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| Standardized Rate Calculation | Crude Rate by Month Target set at 85% |
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| Unit | Percentage |
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| Data Sources | Cancer Care Ontario Path Data Mart, Enterprise Data Warehouse |
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| Time Frame | January to December, 2016 |
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| Geographic Scale | Laboratory LHIN level |
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| Denominator Description | Total Cancer resection reports received Exclusions: - All non-cancer cases
- ICDO-3 behaviours of 0 (benign)*, 1 (borderline)*, 2 (in situ) ** and 6 (metastatic).
- Consults
- Addendums, amendments
- All report types other than surgical pathology resection reports
- Reports from private labs and pediatric hospitals
- Non-reportable disease sites***
*Exception of Brain and Spinal cord **Exception of Breast DCIS, Urinary Bladder, Urethra, Renal Pelvis and Ureter. ***Report received for the optional for use eCC resection templates: Ewing Sarcoma/Primitive Neuroectodermal tumour Resection, Neuroblastoma, Retinoblastoma, Rhabdomyosarcoma, Uveal Melanoma. |
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| Numerator Description | Cancer resection reports received within 14 calendar days from date of surgery (ORIGINAL_REPORT_DATE - SPECMN_TAKEN_DATE = Wait Time days) |
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| Considerations | EDW data source inclusion and exclusion rules apply |
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| Data Availability & Limitations | Two months lag time from prep to presentation layer in Pathology Data Mart |
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