The characteristic of the outpatient clinic of this cancer center is that the treatment policy is decided through “Organ-specific cancer units” where physicians, surgeons, and radiotherapists who specialize in a particular type of cancer, or diagnostic pathologists, diagnostic radiographers, and various medical staff meet and examine the cases. Therefore, for all patients who come to the hospital, the treatment policy is finally decided after examination by many specialists and not by the decision of individual doctors so that the best medical care can be provided. In the previous system where each department and each doctor used to conduct medical examination individually, there was a risk that there may be a difference in the suggested treatment policy depending on the department, and may confuse the patient and patient’s family as there is no sharing of information, and there was a risk that a different treatment may be provided depending on the department in charge. Besides, this system required coordination and transfer between departments when deciding the treatment policy and implementing the treatment, due to which there used to be a delay in starting the actual treatment. In our outpatient clinic, multiple specialists and various medical staff can share information of individual patients and medical information through “Organ-specific cancer units” which enables an objective and prompt decision of treatment policy and to provide high-quality treatment. These units can be expected to have a significant impact on training specialists and specialized staff and can significantly contribute to improving the quality of medical personnel for providing better medical care.
- Treatment policy is not dependent on a single medical department
- Prompt decisions
- Close coordination between multiple medical departments
- Training personnel involved with cancer treatment
What is a Unit?
Multiple specialists such as physicians, surgeons, and radiotherapists come together to provide objective and prompt decision on treatment policy in close cooperation transcending departmental boundaries and take responsibility as the cancer board of Kyoto University Hospital Cancer Center. Discussions are held on patients who need to be examined with a focus on new patients before deciding the treatment policy. At the outpatient clinic of our cancer center, the treatment course is suggested based on the results from the units.
Outpatient Unit
Our current outpatient units are for esophageal cancer and pancreatic cancer. In the outpatient units, patients are directed to an “Organ-specific cancer unit” from the first visit, and a thorough study is carried out in the unit on the same day of consultation. When selecting a treatment, patients can also ask for explanations from multiple specialists, and this significantly benefits patients as they can choose a treatment without undue worries.
For outpatient doctor chart, Click here