BMJ Open (Aug 2022)

Development of an Australia and New Zealand Lung Cancer Clinical Quality Registry: a protocol paper

  • Fraser Brims,
  • John Zalcberg,
  • Sue Evans,
  • Nick Pavlakis,
  • Jennifer Philip,
  • Ross Lawrenson,
  • Susan Harden,
  • Henry Marshall,
  • Gavin M Wright,
  • Paul Dawkins,
  • Emily Stone,
  • Shantelle Smith,
  • Margaret Brand,
  • Lisa Briggs,
  • Lillian Leigh,
  • Mark Brooke,
  • Vanessa N Brunelli,
  • Collin Chia,
  • Mary Duffy,
  • Tracy Leong,
  • Dainik Patel,
  • Nicole Rankin,
  • Nimit Singhal,
  • Rebecca Tay,
  • Shalini Vinod,
  • Morgan Windsor,
  • David Leong,
  • Rob G Stirling

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2022-060907
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 12, no. 8

Abstract

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Introduction Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality, comprising the largest national cancer disease burden in Australia and New Zealand. Regional reports identify substantial evidence-practice gaps, unwarranted variation from best practice, and variation in processes and outcomes of care between treating centres. The Australia and New Zealand Lung Cancer Registry (ANZLCR) will be developed as a Clinical Quality Registry to monitor the safety, quality and effectiveness of lung cancer care in Australia and New Zealand.Methods and analysis Patient participants will include all adults >18 years of age with a new diagnosis of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), SCLC, thymoma or mesothelioma. The ANZLCR will register confirmed diagnoses using opt-out consent. Data will address key patient, disease, management processes and outcomes reported as clinical quality indicators. Electronic data collection facilitated by local data collectors and local, state and federal data linkage will enhance completeness and accuracy. Data will be stored and maintained in a secure web-based data platform overseen by registry management. Central governance with binational representation from consumers, patients and carers, governance, administration, health department, health policy bodies, university research and healthcare workers will provide project oversight.Ethics and dissemination The ANZLCR has received national ethics approval under the National Mutual Acceptance scheme. Data will be routinely reported to participating sites describing performance against measures of agreed best practice and nationally to stakeholders including federal, state and territory departments of health. Local, regional and (bi)national benchmarks, augmented with online dashboard indicator reporting will enable local targeting of quality improvement efforts.