| Description of Indicator | Percentage of patients diagnosed in Lung Diagnostic Assessment Programs within target (28 days), referral to diagnosis. |
| Figures/Graphs | Figure 2 |
| Rationale for Measurement | The wait time from ‘referral to diagnosis or rule out’ at lung/thoracic DAPs has been a priority on Cancer Care Ontario’s (CCO’s) provincial performance scorecard since 2012/13. Additionally, collection of this wait times data from DAP sites: - enables for uniform measurement of diagnostic wait times in DAPs across the province;
- helps CCO understand current wait times as well as support the development of targets and priorities surrounding diagnostic wait times; and
- Allows CCO to provide site specific performance reports back to DAP sites which can inform continuous quality improvement strategies.
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| Evidence/References for Rationale | An evidence-based and consensus-driven initiative (the Diagnostic Wait Times Project) was undertaken to arrive at a core set of wait time indicators by which the impact of the DAPs can be monitored and evaluated. One of the main indicators emerging from this exercise was the ‘referral to the DAP to diagnosis or rule out’ wait time. This interval is derived using wait times data reported by individual DAP sites through the DAP - Data Upload Tool (DDUT) or the DAP - Electronic Pathway Solution (DAP-EPS). |
| Calculations for the Indicator | (Number of cases diagnosed in Lung DAP within target (28 days), referral to diagnosis / total number of valid cases referred to Lung DAP) x 100 = Percentage of patients diagnosed in lung DAPs within target (28 days), referral to diagnosis |
| Standardized Rate Calculation | N/A |
| Unit | Percentage of patients diagnosed in lung DAPs within target (28 days) |
| Data Sources | DAP Data Upload Tool (DDUT) and DAP - Electronic Pathway Solution (DAP-EPS) |
| Time Frame | Calendar year 2012 - 2016 |
| Geographic Scale | Regional Cancer Program of diagnosis |
| Denominator Description | Total Number of valid cases referred to a lung Diagnostic Assessment Program Inclusions: - Thoracic/Lung DAP patients
- Diagnostic test positive or negative
Exclusions: - Patients with missing date of referral or date of diagnosis
- Patients where the date of definitive test is earlier than the date of referral to DAP if the date of definitive test is available
- Patients where the date of diagnosis is earlier than the date of referral to DAP if the date of definitive test is not available
- Patients who have previously had a diagnosis of suspicious/follow-up
- Diagnostic test result other than positive or negative
- Patients with Referral Status ‘In Progress’ and ‘Deleted’
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| Numerator Description | Number of cases diagnosed in Lung Diagnostic Assessment Programs within target (28 days), referral to diagnosis |
| Considerations | - All Participants of DAP (with or without valid Health Insurance Numbers) will be included in this analysis.
- This interval only captures patients referred to and diagnosed in the DAP program.
- Time period, in days, between the date of receipt of referral to the DAP for testing of patients suspicious of cancer to the date of diagnosis (presence or absence of cancer)
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| Data Availability & Limitations | Only DAP enrolled patients are included in the analysis |