OnCo
ideasIdea

Formal shared-care agreements between oncology and family doctors, with same-day e-consult

Family doctors often do not know who is responsible for a cancer patient's blood pressure, diabetes or new symptom. Written agreements plus a same-day electronic question line to the oncologist would fill the gap.

During active treatment, primary care is often sidelined; after treatment, oncology withdraws and primary care is unclear about what to monitor. Formal shared-care agreements defining who manages what, combined with electronic consultation channels with a same-day response target, have improved coordination in other chronic diseases. Applying them systematically in oncology would reduce emergency visits and duplicated or missed care.

Hypothesis
Practices under shared-care agreements with e-consult access will reduce unplanned emergency attendances of their cancer patients by at least 15% and increase management of comorbidities to target.
Rationale
Ambiguity of responsibility is a documented cause of missed care in cancer; explicit agreements resolve it at low cost.
What would test it
A cluster-randomised trial across 60 primary care practices with emergency attendance, comorbidity control, and clinician satisfaction as endpoints.
Maturity
early clinical
Who has to act
clinic
Cost to try
Small (under $1M)
Years to first evidence
2
Bottlenecks it attacks

Connected

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