Department of Health

Key messages

  • Care coordination is a comprehensive approach to achieving continuity of care for people receiving cancer treatment.
  • Care coordination across the cancer pathway is the function and responsibility of the whole health service and multidisciplinary team.

Care coordination seeks to ensure that care is delivered in a logical, connected and timely manner so that the medical and personal needs of the person are met. It is a comprehensive approach to achieving continuity of care for people from diagnosis through to the post treatment phase.

The Victorian approach is to redesign systems of care as a way of ensuring that care coordination becomes the function and responsibility of the whole health service and multidisciplinary team and not just the role of an individual (care) coordinator. This is to ensure that initiatives implemented address both the process by which care is delivered and the needs of the majority of cancer patients as they move through their pathway of care.

Improving cancer care coordination in Victoria

A policy document has been developed to guide the improvements in coordinated cancer care at one or more levels of the healthcare system. The document outlines three key strategic directions:

  • strengthening information sharing between care providers and between healthcare events
  • improving cancer service delivery so it is complementary and timely
  • building effective relationships and links.

Care coordination is an underlying principle in the optimal care pathways for cancer.

Reviewed 29 October 2024

Health.vic

Contact details

Statewide and Specialist Programs Department of Health

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