The HUG Cancer Center is a structure that brings together all the skills required to care for cancer patients. It revolves around 17 tumor boards, covering all types of cancer. Tumor boards are multidisciplinary meetings where specialists from different medical and surgical disciplines come together to study complex patient cases and agree on the best treatment plan.
These tumor boards are rigorously and professionally managed by a secretarial platform. They are open to community doctors and are also accessible by videoconference from other public and private health facilities. The HUG cancer center thus works in a network with Lausanne University Hospital, the West Geneva Hospital Group (GHOL) and the Clinique de Genolier.
In order to guarantee high quality care, the HUG has set up an innovative process for holistic and integrated management of the patient journey. As such, a team of case managers is heavily involved throughout the treatment plan to provide coordination of care between the different parties involved and to ensure that the right patient receives the right treatment at the right time. The case managers strictly monitor treatment deadlines at the various stages of the clinical journey. These deadlines are set by experts, taking into account clinical pathways, best practices and quality requirements set by the accreditation bodies.
The HUG Cancer Center meets the qualification criteria for a « Center of Excellence » as defined in the relevant literature, namely:
- multidisciplinary care focused on the specific needs of each patient, of high quality and performed in a secure environment
- medical practices in line with good clinical practice for each area of expertise
- an organization focused on the continuous improvement of the quality of services provided and patient satisfaction
- a spirit of open collaboration with the city and other public and private institutions, including abroad
- a place of public information and continuing education for professionals
- an internationally recognized research center at the cutting edge of innovation.
Its level of expertise in the field of breast cancer and prostate cancer has been formally recognized in the form of an accreditation label awarded by an external and independent body. Obtained in 2014, these accreditations have been renewed every year following an audit of the results.
3’881
cases discussed at 17 tumor boards in 2017
323
cases per month at the cancer center including :
52
in the breast center
34
at the prostate center