New Hanover Regional Medical Center now offers an innovative Lung Program that provides a new approach to caring for and treating patients diagnosed with lung cancer.

In addition to the Lung Program, NHRMC launched another aspect of coordinated care last month to try and catch lung  cancer earlier.

NHRMC officially began CT lung screenings as an American College of Radiology Designated Lung Center and approved Medicare facility. Doctors use a low-dose computerized tomography, or CT, scan of the lungs to look for lung cancer.

The Lung Program was started “to give patients a more efficient and streamlined approach to high-quality comprehensive care,” said Lorraine Sieminski, NHRMC Lung Program director and nurse navigator.

Sieminski, a registered nurse who has a bachelor’s of science degree in nursing and is an oncology-certified nurse, said participation in the Lung Program begins when the program team reviews and discusses new patients’ symptoms and test results.

Team-based trend

Patients diagnosed with lung cancer through a screening can be referred to the Lung Program at the NHRMC Zimmer Cancer Center.

The Lung Program provides newly diagnosed patients “access to a multi-disciplinary team that expedites treatment,” a news release stated. 

“Finding tumors early and beginning treatment as soon as possible is the best way to fight this disease,” Henry Hawthorne, administrator of oncology services for NHRMC, said in the release. 

The NHRMC Lung Program was initiated by a team of several physicians that included Douglas Testori, a doctor with Cape Fear Cancer Specialists affiliated with the NHRMC Physician Group. Testori is a medical oncology specialist.

Other members of the multi-disciplinary team include Kelly Nagasawa, cardiothoracic surgery specialist; Michael Papagikos, radiation oncology specialist; Andrew Schreiber, of Cape Fear Cancer Specialists affiliated with the NHRMC Physician Group, a medical oncology specialist; and Christian Lloyd, NHRMC director of intensive care services and a pulmonology specialist.

Also part of the team are Robert Cortina, a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and general surgery specialist; Charles Neal, a radiation oncology specialist; Michael Nichols, a radiation oncology specialist; and Nassar Siddiqi, a pulmonologist.

Using the information gathered, Sieminski said doctors determine the type and stage of lung cancer and create a care plan tailored to each patient. 

“The team meets with the patient face-to-face to walk through the care plan, basically giving the patient four doctor visits in just a matter of hours,” Sieminski said.

As a patient navigator, Sieminski helps participants coordinate follow-up appointments, assists with financial resources, explains medications and answers questions “so the plan is followed through with one point person.”  

The team care trend has been adopted for treatment of many conditions throughout the health care industry.

“The team approach gives patients an improved quality of care. Having a team reduces redundancies, such as ordering duplicate tests, which reduces out of pocket costs. It also allows for patients to get treatments started sooner, which in turn can improve outcomes,” Sieminski said.

Early screening emphasis

Another aspect of helping lung cancer patients is intervening early.

“Lung cancer screenings are important since symptoms of lung cancer aren’t noticeable until the disease has progressed to an advanced state. Screenings are vital to detect cancer in the early stages when it is most treatable,” according to a NHRMC news release.

On Feb. 1, NHRMC officially began CT lung screenings as an American College of Radiology Designated Lung Center and approved Medicare facility.

The low-dose CT lung screenings assist in diagnosing lung cancers at an earlier, more treatable stage. The goal is to save lives, a news release said.

“Without lung screening, lung cancer is usually not found until a person develops symptoms. At that time it is much harder to treat,” Kim Sink, account executive for NHRMC Health & Diagnostics, said in the release.

The ACR Lung Cancer Screening Center designation is a voluntary program. It “recognizes facilities committed to practicing safe and effective diagnostic care for individuals at the highest risk for lung cancer,” the release stated.

Officials noted that in order to receive the distinction, facilities must be accredited by the American College of Radiology in computed tomography, “in addition to undergoing a rigorous assessment of its lung cancer screening protocol and infrastructure.”

Facilities that receive the ACR designation are also required to have procedures in place for follow-up patient care.

Procedures include counseling and smoking cessation programs, the release stated.

A physician referral is required for screening. A screening can be ordered by a primary care physician and conducted at any one of eight NHRMC lung screening clinic locations in New Hanover, Brunswick and Pender counties.

Those between 55 and 77 years old who currently smoke or quit smoking within the past 15 years should talk with their primary care physician to determine if they are a candidate for screening, officials said.

Medicare provides coverage for patients who meet the criteria and are considered “high risk,” the release stated.

“Some insurance companies pay for lung screenings and should be contacted for details,” it added. 

The American College of Radiology represents more than 37,000 diagnostic radiologists, radiation oncologists, interventional radiologists, nuclear medicine physicians and medical physicists.

According to the ACR website, its core functional areas are advocacy, economics, education, quality and safety, research and membership value.

Those core areas “are improving, promoting and protecting the practice of radiology,” the website states. Since 1987, ACR has accredited more than 38,000 facilities.

Through an initiative called Imaging 3.0, ACR “is leading the transition to value-based radiological treatment and care,” the website states. “ACR accreditation helps assure your patients that you provide the highest level of image quality and safety. Our process documents that your facility meets requirements for equipment, medical personnel and quality assurance,” the website states.

Achieving ACR accreditation “is not only the right thing to do for patient quality and safety. It also helps [a] facility meet governmental and third-party payer criteria,” according to the organization.