Cancer requires the very best care. That is why experts from various hospitals in the center of the Netherlands are joining forces in Oncomid. The hospitals St. Antonius, Diakonessenhuis, Meander Medical Center, Rivierenland, Tergooi and UMC Utrecht are united in this regional oncology network. Together they have the ambition to organize the right oncological care in the right place.
In a webinar Wednesday October 7, more than sixty healthcare professionals from these hospitals were introduced to Oncomid. Wouter van Maarseveen, chairman of the Oncomid Management Board: “The right care in the right place, that is essentially what Oncomid stands for, with the aim of providing the best care for people with cancer. Joining forces, being able to find each other in the field of knowledge, skills and experience and listening to each other: this is how we continuously improve care for people with cancer. Better care means increasingly better chances of survival for patients and a better quality of life. ”
Twelve regional expert teams, classified according to different types of cancer, are at the heart of this oncology network. “Specialists from the entire region work together in these expert teams so that every patient is treated according to the most up-to-date scientific insights, regardless of the hospital in which they are treated,” says endocrinologist Prof. Gerlof Valk, chairman of the Oncology Committee at UMC Utrecht and member of the Oncomid Management Board.
Oncomid supports and facilitates collaboration between specialists, for example by securely exchanging patient data between the different hospitals. Together, the hospitals do more and better scientific research. And hospitals are continuously working on improving care and looking for new treatments. As a result, the knowledge and expertise is not limited to one hospital and ensures that the quality of cancer care in the entire region increases.
IKNL (quality institute for oncological and palliative research and practice)., plays an important role in this collaboration. IKNL supports the regional expert teams by collecting data, developing regional care pathways and scientific research.
Brigitte Gijsen, senior advisor at IKNL and Bas Geerdes, medical manager at IKNL, congratulated the collaborating hospitals. “Reducing the impact of cancer is teamwork, we have to do it together.”
Within urological oncology and RAKU (stomach, esophagus, liver, pancreatic and gallbladder oncology), UMC Utrecht has been working with hospitals in the region for some time. These regional collaborations are part of Oncomid.
