NORTHBROOK, Ill., Nov. 20, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Astellas US
LLC and the Academy of Oncology Nurse & Patient Navigators
(AONN+) announced today a new collaboration to develop, standardize
and validate an evidence-based, oncology navigation-specific Acuity
Tool. When finalized, the tool will have the potential to determine
the level of support cancer patients may need from their oncology
team to help them better understand their disease, treatment
options, and next steps, and to empower greater engagement in their
care along their journey.
While acuity is commonly used in healthcare literature, the
concept is frequently misunderstood or used incorrectly. "The term
patient acuity refers to a description of patient attributes that
can be used to stratify care needs and navigation requirements,"
said AONN+'s Danelle Johnston, MSN,
RN, ONN-CG, OCN, chief nursing officer and senior director of
strategic planning and initiatives. "Once you have an accurate way
to quantify and prioritize patients' needs, you can make
predictions to aid in the allocation of resources. Navigation
programs can incorporate this information into an "acuity system"
to measure the effectiveness of navigation activities and to
measure patient outcomes that are specifically related to
navigation services."
Navigators, ranging from nurses to social workers and other
non-clinically trained individuals, have become an integral part of
the multidisciplinary team guiding patients through their complex
and burdensome personal cancer journey. A navigator's ability to
assess patient needs at every stage of care, match needs with
appropriate services, and mitigate barriers to care, can be
enhanced and supported by the development of an acuity tool. "Only
when the needs of the patient can be quantified, can a practical
method for allocating resources, measuring effectiveness and
determining outcomes be defined. As such, a navigation-specific
tool that will reliably assign acuity to any given patient is of
paramount need," said Johnston. "We are thrilled to be
collaborating with Astellas on this important project to fill a
significant unmet need in the cancer community and identify a best
practice for patient-centered care delivery."
"By supporting navigators through the collaborative development
of an oncology acuity tool, we aim to benefit patients and the
broader healthcare ecosystem," said Doug
Noland, head of patient experience, executive director,
Astellas US. "In the landscape of value-based care, navigators have
the potential to influence the patient experience and clinical
outcomes through patient-centric navigation approaches, which may
drive cost efficiencies while improving outcomes."
The Acuity Tool is targeted for release by end of 2019 and will
be based on AONN+'s previous standardization work in 2017 to
introduce 35 evidence-based navigation metrics. Other aspects of
the collaboration will include bringing together subject matter
experts and other oncology leaders as a taskforce to enable the
tool to be scaled to all levels of healthcare organizations, by all
types of navigators and at all points in the cancer care
continuum.
"The Patient Experience Organization within Astellas is
dedicated to understanding patient needs and driving improved
patient outcomes through collaborative projects with organizations
who share similar aspirations and have the potential to deliver
lasting effects for patients," said Noland. "This collaboration
with AONN+ will help advance our effort to be on the forefront of
health care change by turning innovative science into meaningful
value for patients beyond the medicines we innovate and bring to
market."
About Astellas
Astellas is a pharmaceutical company dedicated to improving the
health of people around the world through the provision of
innovative and reliable pharmaceutical products. For more
information on Astellas, please visit our website
at www.astellas.com/us. You can also follow us on Twitter
at @AstellasUS, Facebook
at www.facebook.com/AstellasUS or LinkedIn
at www.linkedin.com/company/astellas-pharma.
About the Academy of Oncology Nurse & Patient
Navigators® (www.aonnonline.org)
The Academy of Oncology Nurse & Patient Navigators, Inc.
(AONN+) is the largest national specialty organization dedicated to
improving patient care and quality of life by defining, enhancing,
and promoting the role of oncology nurses and patient navigators.
The organization, which has more than 8200 members, was founded in
2009 to provide a network for all professionals involved and
interested in patient navigation and survivorship care services in
order to better manage the complexities of the cancer treatment
process.
The Journal of Oncology Navigation &
Survivorship® (www.jons-online.com) is
the official publication of AONN+. It is published 12 times a year
and features topics related to patient navigation and survivorship
care. The Journal of Oncology Navigation & Survivorship
offers original research, best practices, interviews, case reports,
and study highlights, as well as a platform through which
navigators can share research and views on navigation and
survivorship issues.
CONQUER: the patient
voice® magazine (www.conquer-magazine.com)
is the AONN+ premier forum for patients with cancer. CONQUER
features articles written by and for patients with cancer,
survivors, nurse navigators, and other oncology team members. This
magazine addresses the issues that patients, their family members,
and caregivers face every day in an easy-to-read format. Issues
include interviews with patients with cancer, information on access
to care, and articles on lifestyle topics such as nutrition, stress
management, personal finance, and legal and employer issues.
CONQUER also features patient stories that are nominated for
the AONN+ Hero of Hope™ Patient Award, which is presented at the
AONN+ Annual Conference. All stories are compiled in a special
issue of CONQUER at the end of the year.
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SOURCE Astellas US LLC