Cancer care pathways for consumers undergoing diagnosis and treatment are variable and complex, depending on the individual’s needs, circumstances, and cancer types.

The OCPs outline consistent, safe, high quality, and evidence-based care for people with cancer. They set the benchmark for quality cancer care to ensure that all people diagnosed with cancer receive the best care, irrespective of where they live or receive cancer treatment.

OCPs map nationally agreed best practice approaches for certain populations and tumour types across the cancer care continuum, placing patients at the centre of care.

A nationally consistent framework for the development, evaluation, and uptake of OCPs will standardise an evidence-based approach to developing, adapting, evaluating, and embedding OCPs into pathways and clinical practice across jurisdictions and health networks. This includes guidance for developing or adapting OCPs for priority population groups who often have particular support needs.

This 2-year action could include:

• reviewing evidence and learnings from OCP implementation across Australian jurisdictions to date, including the enablers and barriers to embedding OCPs into routine cancer care
• establishing and implementing a national framework that provides guidance and minimum criteria for evidence, development processes, implementation supports and monitoring and evaluation requirements of OCPs at a national level
• developing mechanisms to endorse locally developed OCPs at a national level, to support wider dissemination and application
• promoting a national digital directory for all OCPs, irrespective of who owns or develops the OCPs
• expanding existing OCPs to consider priority population groups, through co-design approaches, recognising their specific needs that require tailored approaches to enable equitable cancer care outcomes
• developing new OCPs for more cancer types to deliver evidence-based outcomes for more people affected by cancer.

There are 27 OCPs currently available. This includes 25 OCPs for cancer types, and two OCPs for population groups (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with cancer[10] and adolescents and young adults with cancer[9]). The implementation of this action would build on these OCPs, consider extending the suite of existing OCPs to all priority populations, and explore developing new OCPs for additional cancer types, with an emphasis on cancers with poorer outcomes.

To support the uptake of OCPs, this action should promote dissemination of information to cancer services, Primary Health Networks, Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services, healthcare practitioners and to consumers, carers, and their families.