According to the American Cancer Society, lung cancer is the deadliest cancer in the United States and the second most common type of cancer.
Although updated guidelines have expanded screening eligibility to include around 14 million people each year, only around 18% of individuals at high risk actually get screened. As a result, nearly half of lung cancer cases are detected at an advanced stage, when treatment is less effective.
A promising new approach could change that: advanced bronchoscopy programs that use robotic technology to find, diagnose and treat lung cancer earlier.
In a session at Becker’s 13th Annual CEO + CFO Roundtable sponsored by Noah Medical, Jason Keeler, president, ReloShare Medical Respite and former COO, University of Chicago Medical Center (UCMC), discussed how lung nodule programs can reduce patient mortality, decrease medical costs and enhance health system margins.
Regional lung nodule programs benefit patients and hospitals alike
Since many patients don’t live close to major academic medical centers and are reluctant to travel for lung nodule screening and follow-up treatment, establishing lung nodule programs in community hospitals gives more people access to high-quality bronchoscopy services that expedite diagnoses and treatment.
Mr. Keeler explained that late diagnosis of lung cancer, which is common today, often means that surgery isn’t an option for people with lung nodules. This results in very sick patients who need costly care. In contrast, lung nodule programs based in community hospitals strive to identify cancer cases at earlier stages, when they are more treatable.
“Through earlier diagnosis and lung nodule management, we want a stage shift,” he said. “Robotic tools enable us to diagnose patients when they are still surgical candidates for resection.”
Community-based lung nodule programs also take the pressure off of crowded AMCs, where limited resources are directed to the most complex cases. Some multi-hospital health systems, for example, have adopted a model for lung nodule detection, where one large, central hospital serves as the hub and regional nodes act as mini-hubs in other geographic areas.
Improving access to care can often be the primary trigger for setting up lung nodule programs at community hospitals. Even though a hospital’s main facility may have several bronchoscopy suites, wait times could be as long as several weeks. By decanting patient volume to regional nodes, an organization can serve more patients more rapidly and in patients’ preferred locations.
Robotic bronchoscopy technology is revolutionizing lung cancer diagnosis and treatment
New technologies are making it possible for lung cancer diagnosis and treatment to shift to smaller hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers. Noah Medical’s Galaxy System, for example, is a robotic platform that allows physicians to biopsy smaller lesions on the periphery, detecting lung cancer earlier in patients who had been advised to “wait and see.”
In addition to its clinical power, the Galaxy System is imaging-system agnostic. As a result, organizations can add advanced robotics to their diagnostic arsenal without investing in new imaging systems. It also has a very small footprint. “That’s important because we aren’t doing bronchoscopy in ORs,” Mr. Keeler said. “We have smaller rooms. It’s one contained cart that we can easily roll in and out.”
Disposable scopes mean the infection risk for patients is lower, while hospitals and surgery centers can turn over procedure rooms more rapidly. Galaxy’s disposable scopes also have a direct financial benefit. Providers can bill for them through Medicare’s technology pass-through payment provisions. Some commercial plans also will reimburse for the disposable scopes.
“This adds to the return on investment for the Galaxy robot. The fact that it could stand alone in the procedure suite and offered an ROI were things that stood out to me,” Mr. Keeler said.
Adding a Galaxy robot to a hospital can enable performing hundreds or even thousands of additional endobronchial ultrasound bronchoscopy procedures and robotic procedures, which can be a significant financial driver for regional hospitals.
When executed carefully and responsibly, regional lung nodule programs can positively impact patient outcomes, as well as hospital operations and financial well-being. Success requires a thorough needs analysis, careful planning and ongoing auditing. Leveraging the right technology is also essential.
“Investing in Galaxy was a piece of our bigger-picture plan for detecting, diagnosing and treating lung cancer in a timely way at UCMC,” Mr. Keeler shared.
