Education Program in Cancer Care
The Education Program in Cancer Care is an initiative of Cancer Australia.
Project Aims & Outcomes
The aim of Education Program in Cancer Care (EPICC) is to improve the quality of cancer control particularly in rural and regional Australia by providing greater opportunities for interested registered medical practitioners to increase their expertise in cancer management.
The objectives of EPICC are
- To enable interested registered medical practitioners, particularly those in regional and rural Australia who are not specialist oncologists, to acquire sufficient knowledge and skills to play a more active role in the delivery of quality, evidenced based cancer care.
- To develop modular learning packages in oncology to increase knowledge and skills of generalist medical practitioners in the management of cancer, including training regarding safety of chemotherapy administration and management of common complications of cancer treatments.
The outcomes of EPICC are
(1) Increased skills and expertise of registered medical practitioners in
- Implementing evidence-based cancer risk reduction interventions;
- Promoting and supporting patient participation in cancer screening programs;
- Facilitating early diagnosis of cancer;
- Providing appropriate referral and greater coordination of care;
- Increased knowledge of evidence based cancer treatment options and clinical trial participation;
- Increasing awareness of chemotherapy and radiotherapy toxicities and their management;
- Provision of psychosocial support and appropriate referral;
- Working in multidisciplinary teams.
(2) Increased involvement of general practitioners in multidisciplinary care of cancer patients.
(3) Greater provision of routine cancer care in rural areas by medical practitioners to reduce the need for patient travel to metropolitan centres for care.
(4) Better educational opportunities for non-cancer specialist medical practitioners to improve skills in care coordination thereby increasing patient satisfaction.
(5) Increased opportunities for general practitioners in cancer education and multidisciplinary care provision to increase practitioner confidence in providing cancer care.
(6) Improved cancer care through coordination and education of medical practitioners in order to improve overall outcomes, especially in rural and remote areas of Australia.
Steering Committee
Stakeholder Organisation
Representative
Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine
Ms Di Wyatt
Australian Government, Department of Health and Ageing
Population Health DivisionProfessor Rosemary Knight
Cancer Australia
Dr Joanne Ramadge
Cancer Voices
Ms Lesley McQuire
Faculty of Radiation Oncology
Professor Michael Barton
Medical Oncology Group of Australia
A/Prof Bogda Koczwara, Chair
Royal Australian College of General Practitioners
Dr Morton Rawlin, Director Education Services
Royal Australasian College of Physicians
Mr Davy Loo
Royal Australasian College of Surgeons
A/Prof Brendon Coventry
Working Group
Stakeholder Organisation
Representative
Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine*
Ms Di Wyatt
Australian Government, Department of Health and Ageing
Primary Care Division*
Professor Rosemary Knight
Australia & New Zealand Society of Palliative Medicine
Dr Meera Agar
Cancer Australia*
Dr Joanne Ramadge
Cancer Learning
Ms Jackie Ross
A/Prof Tim Shaw
Cancer Voices*
Ms Lesley McQuire
Clinical Oncology Society of Australia, Regional and Rural Committee
Dr Adam Boyce, Chair
Faculty of Radiation Oncology*
Professor Michael Barton
Haematology Society of Australia & New Zealand
Dr David Ritchie
Medical Oncology Group of Australia*
A/Prof Bogda Koczwara, Chair
Psycho-Oncology Co-operative Research Group
Dr Jane Turner
Royal Australian College of General Practitioners*
Dr Morton Rawlin, Director Education Services
Royal Australasian College of Physicians*
Mr Davy Loo
Royal Australasian College of Surgeons*
A/Prof Brendon Coventry
The Cancer Council Australia
Professor Ian Olver, CEO
*Also Steering Committee members.
