Using nurse navigation to improve timeliness of lung cancer care at a veterans hospital.

The Connecticut Veterans Affairs Healthcare System (CT-VAHCS) sought to improve the timeliness of lung cancer care by filling the new position of cancer care coordinator with an advanced practice nurse (APN) functioning as a nurse navigator. The multifaceted nature of diagnosing lung cancer and the barriers encountered by patients and families as they access the complex healthcare system contributed to substantial delays in diagnosing and treating this disease. Beginning in January 2007 when the cancer care coordinator was hired, she recorded data regarding timeliness and stage at diagnosis for all patients diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer.

Home telehealth reduces healthcare costs.

The aim of this study was to determine whether home telehealth, when integrated with the health facility's electronic medical record system, reduces healthcare costs and improves quality-of-life outcomes relative to usual home healthcare services for elderly high resource users with complex co-morbidities. Study patients were identified through the medical center's database. Intervention patients received home telehealth units that used standard phone lines to communicate with the hospital.