By rdnewsNOW staff

Merck and Astra Zeneca

Alberta Cancer Foundation and partners to address health care wait times with new Precision Analytics program

Mar 6, 2024 | 2:30 PM

The Alberta Cancer Foundation and Cancer Care Alberta have announced what they describe as a transformative public private philanthropic partnership with industry leaders Merck and Astra Zeneca.

Together, officials say they are investing in the new Precision Analytics program that is expected to help drive innovations in cancer care in Alberta. Driven by a shared commitment to address the most pressing challenges in health care, officials say the partnership will leverage advanced data analytics to help address wait times and inform new models of care, with the goal of better outcomes for frontline medical staff and their patients.

“We know that cancer rates are increasing, putting constraints on the day-to-day workloads of health-care providers and the system as a whole,” says Wendy Beauchesne, CEO, of the Alberta Cancer Foundation. “It is paramount we address growing pressures facing the cancer care system today, so we are prepared to help those who need it tomorrow. Not only does the Precision Analytics program exemplify the power of collaboration, but it will create innovative strategies to reduce wait times and enhance capacity within our health-care system.”

“The Precision Analytics program will provide us with invaluable insights into patient characteristics, trends and resource allocation strategies,” says Brenda Hubley, chief program officer of Cancer Care Alberta. “By leveraging real-time data and cutting-edge analytics, we can improve our operations and ensure that patients with cancer receive timely access to high-quality care, which we know is vital for better patient outcomes.”

“AstraZeneca is proud to support the Precision Analytics program, which is aligned with our commitment to advancing cancer care through innovation,” says Erik Schrader, vice president and head of oncology at AstraZeneca Canada. “This collaborative partnership and multidisciplinary approach to maximizing efficiencies in the health system is sure to advance the standard of care in Alberta and beyond. We hope learnings from this investigative model can be applied to other areas of health care across the country.”

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“Tackling the challenge collectively enables us to address inefficiencies in Alberta and leverage any valuable insights gathered to elevate the standard of care in other parts of the country,” says Marwan Akar, president and managing director at Merck Canada. “Together, we are paving the way for transformative change in supporting better health outcomes for Canadians affected by cancer.”

Officials say the Precision Analytics program is building on the Government of Alberta’s investment into Connect Care and Cancer Care Alberta’s Data Environment for Cancer Inquiries and Decisions (DECIDe), leveraging data from these initiatives to inform decision-making and streamline operations across the province.

According to officials, the investment in Precision Analytics will facilitate the recruitment of specialists in epidemiology, biostatistics and machine learning to help identify patient characteristics, trends and factors that influence health-care delivery and access. Additionally, the program is anticipated to develop interactive software to enable the modeling of various care delivery scenarios, providing an optimal learning environment for health department leaders.

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