Oncology-PANEL: Tool for Management

Abstract

Introduction: It was necessary to construct a new tool to monitor the interval between the diagnosis of a malignant neoplasm and the beginning of cancer treatment in the Public Health System. For this purpose, the Oncology-PANEL was developed. Objective: To introduce the process of elaboration of the tool, its applications, potentialities and limits, with its future perspectives. Method: The panel was built from the deterministic relationship of diagnostic and treatment information obtained from the Outpatient Information System, through the Individualized Outpatient Production and the High Complexity Procedure Authorization, in the Hospital Information System and the Cancer Information System, using the National Health Card and the diagnosis of cancer as identification key of the case. Result: The tool has three panels: 1st. Panel: Monitoring the initiation of the cancer treatment which excludes non-melanoma and thyroid skin cancers; 2nd Panel: Cases without date of diagnosis by year of treatment, and 3rd. Panel: Cases diagnosed with non-melanoma and thyroid skin cancer; and a set of charts and tables with selection filters. Conclusion: Oncology-PANEL was available to managers and control agencies on May 15, 2019. It is an agile and manager-accessible tool for monitoring the time of the first cancer treatment. However, the information presented in the Oncology-PANEL depend on the registration and the quality of the information of the Health Information Systems from which the data are obtained.