shifting the conversations.
if the arrival of car-t has taught us anything, and it certainly has, it is that perhaps one of the major lessons learned is the need for all stakeholders to work together in ways that have never been done before. the unprecedented arrival of CAR-T and it's disruptive nature create an environment of the complexity of problems that need to be solved, more so than ever before. this is requiring a lot of parts to come together smoothly to successfully implement and deliver what is one of the most promising therapies for hematologic cancers that we’ve seen for both the adult and paediatric population.
appropriate and timely care requires collaboration amongst the different professionals in the various settings with a variety of skill sets, perspectives and approaches to solve them— from introduction to implementation, from NOC to hospital settings, it is only through inter-professional collaboration, integrated care delivery and inter-organizational collaboration will we be able to deliver on the promise of car-t for canadians.
bringing an innovation to market needs a mix of left- and right-brain people — visionaries and ditch-diggers, stubborn idealists and open-minded pragmatists. and all this requires collaboration without segregation of disciplines, in honest and open discussions that address and identify the gaps and the opportunities.
as car-t cell therapy becomes more widely used, treatment guidelines, comprehensive training of multi-disciplinary staff, policy, reimbursement and other measures should facilitate the appropriate implementation of the therapy and the management of related toxicities that may occur following this new treatment and ensure patients access across provinces.
collaboration is key to the success of any business venture, and healthcare should be no exception. yet time and time again, we see the end users of the healthcare system rarely engaged with thus encountering gaps in care that stem from miscommunication or lack of communication among those involved in patient care. incorporating this could result in decisions that lead to positive patient outcomes.
we have seen CADTH and INESSS work in collaboration for what is possibly the very first time with the introduction of car-t cell therapy, collaborating with stakeholders in an unprecedented way. the CADTH website states ‘transparency, collaboration, and stakeholder engagement are central to each assessment that CADTH undertakes’– and this is true at the HTA level and every level before and after —as the pipeline in car-t and other disruptive and innovative technologies continue to expand and develop are there better ways for us to collaborate?