Patients with lung cancer who also have moderate to severe depression can be more likely to experience inflammation and may be at a greater risk for poor outcomes, a single study has shown.¹ Emerging findings like these suggest that a patient’s mental health during cancer treatment can play a crucial role in their overall health, reinforcing the importance of treating people with lung cancer beyond their initial diagnosis. This more holistic approach is central to the concept of ‘Care Coordination.’

Care Coordination refers to the synchronized delivery of the various aspects of a patient’s care – from medical care, like diagnostic tests, treatment and symptom management, to supportive care, like informational and psychosocial services.² Coordination across these elements can improve the quality of care a patient receives and, in turn, their outcomes.³

Specific to lung cancer, the care pathway is complex and as an estimated 2.2 million people were newly diagnosed with lung cancer in 2020, it is also crowded.⁴ Many people newly diagnosed with lung cancer may enter health systems that lack the capacity to provide quality, coordinated care, including psychosocial support, leading to poor symptom control, medical errors and higher costs.^{5, 6} Further, a lack of coordination can lead to negative experiences that erode patients’ trust and receptiveness to their care, all elements that compound and amount to poorer outcomes.^7,8

A new report, ‘Improving Coordination of Lung Cancer Care and Patient Support,’ ² identifies the primary barriers to Care Coordination in lung cancer and provides a series of recommendations to overcome them.

Intended for policymakers at any level, the report organizes these recommendations and corresponding methods for measurement into three categories:

1. Improve access to coordinated care through a defined pathway

2. Enhance the capacity of health systems

3. Address lack of access to coordinated information and psychosocial services

These recommendations reflect the diverse perspectives and experiences of healthcare providers, patient group representatives, researchers and industry partners as convened by the LAA and its Ambition, Improvement, Measurement (AIM) program.