[Outcomes of the Critical Pathway for Cooperative Follow-up on Patients with Postoperative Lung Cancer]

We introduced the critical pathway (CP) for follow-up on patients with postoperative lung cancer to the staff of the Hyogo Prefectural Awaji Medical Center and regional medical institutions in Japan, in 2010.

We raised awareness within our hospital and collaborating medical institutes and trained our staff on the CP before introducing it. From May 2013 through October 2023, lung cancer surgery was performed on 460 patients. Our CP was applied to 71.7% of these patients. Reasons for non-application included the high risk of recurrence due to advanced cancer stages( 39.2%) and the treatment for other types of cancer was needed in our hospital (26.2%). We reviewed the outcome of our CP.

The high application rate was facilitated by preparatory actions, including training our hospital staff and collaborating medical institutions. An even higher application rate can be achieved by continuing to raise awareness and strengthening cooperation between concerned medical institutions that treat advanced lung cancer.