Tracey O’Brien, Chief Cancer Officer and CEO of Cancer Institute NSW, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“This is what a learning cancer system looks like in practice:
- Connect the right information.
- Interpret it with people who understand the context.
- Act on what it tells us.
- Measure whether care improves.
- Share the learning across the system.
Today I met with the Chief Executive Tracey McCosker PSM, Dr. Fiona Abel, Directors of Cancer Services and surgical leaders at Hunter New England Local Health District as we near the end of our latest statewide series of Reporting Better Cancer Outcomes meetings.
Hunter New England is leading NSW in breast and lung screening, has one of the strongest clinical trials capability, led the way with direct access colonoscopy models and performs consistently well across all district facilities in cancer outpatient experience measures. The team is also strengthening its use of patient-reported outcome measures, giving us a richer picture of supportive care needs during treatment and beyond.
These meetings are not simply about reviewing performance.
They bring statewide data together with clinical expertise, patient voice and local knowledge. They help us understand why outcomes vary, recognize where services are leading, and identify what can be improved or shared across NSW.
The data matter. But the real value comes from the conversation and what happens next.
Reporting Better Cancer Outcomes has helped build the foundations of a learning cancer system: transparent measurement, trusted clinical relationships and a shared willingness to look honestly at both strengths and gaps.
The next opportunity is to connect these strong foundations and leverage SPDR, faster linked data, patient-reported information and AI augmentation to help us interpret complexity, identify variation earlier and direct attention to where it can make the greatest difference.
But I would argue, the purpose is not more data or more technology. It is to shorten the distance between what we know and what we do, so that every person with cancer in NSW experiences better outcomes, better care, and a better quality of life.”
Read more about Reporting Better Outcomes here
Other articles about Cancer Institute NSW on OncoDaily.