Entry into oncology can be on different levels
Entry into oncology can be on different levels
Which form fits your facility?
Adding oncology services to your woman's center mix can take whichever form best fits your organization's needs and resources, says Diane Bruno Himwich, MS, RN, national director of women's health for Phillips+Fenwick, a Scotts Valley, CA-based consulting firm that specializes in the development of women's health programs.
Breast health is the most obvious area that lends itself to programs with differing levels of complexities, explains Bruno Himwich. The levels, from simplest to most complex, are:
· Breast health educational program that increases community's awareness of breast health through lectures and telephone referral services. This level requires a knowledgeable individual to serve as the educator.
· Radiology program that includes screening mammography. Most women's centers have this piece of the program, but the key to success is to make sure the educational program and the screening program carry the same messages, says Bruno Himwich. For example, be sure your patients receive the same information about breast self-exam as well as frequency and age at which to start mammography screenings from both sources.
· Diagnostic mammography program that includes on-site radiologist who focuses on mammography. In addition to having equipment that takes a variety of views, ultrasound is available for further diagnosis.
· Needle localization and surgical biopsy services. This level requires the radiologists and surgeons to be closely aligned within the program.
· Stereotactic biopsy. This step requires radiologists and surgeons to develop credentialing criteria to allow both specialties to perform the biopsy.
· Interdisciplinary medical committee to look at treatment options once diagnosis is confirmed. This committee includes oncologists, radiologists, surgeons, GYN surgeons, and reconstructive plastic surgeons.
· Appointment of medical director. The physician who serves as medical director can be a radiologist if your program is diagnostic-based or a surgeon if the program is more comprehensive.
"One client found that her best champions were both a radiologist and a surgeon, so they were named co-medical directors," says Bruno Himwich.
Development of a GYN oncology program has very similar levels: education, telephone referral to physician, pre-treatment conference, post-surgical unit for women, medical treatment, medical director, genetic risk assessment, and research.
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