Opportunities for Improvement
Recommendation
Austria needs an updated National Cancer Control Plan.
Rationale
Indicator 1: Austria’s National Cancer Control Plan was published in 2014 and needs to be updated. An updated national cancer
control plan should ideally include the following elements—which were only weakly covered in the current plan: discussion of
prevention, screening and early detection, red flags and symptoms to look for in primary care, diagnosis, an implementation plan
and a funding source.Recommendation
Achieving national smoke-free legislation in Austria has been a challenge. While legislation is now moving through the system,
smoke-free legislation should be strengthened further.
Rationale
Indicator 3: The costs to Austrian society from tobacco have not been fully addressed. Smoke-free legislation was scheduled to go
into effect in restaurants and bars in May 2018 but was then overturned by the government. A new law was passed in July 2019,
which is now scheduled to go into effect on 1 November 2019. National smoke-free legislation in Austria should be strengthened
by including a ban on smoking in indoor offices and on public transportation.Recommendation
Participation in lung cancer screening trials and studies may enable Austria to determine whether screening is appropriate for
its population.
Rationale
Indicator 6: There is no evidence to show that Austria has participated in a lung cancer screening study or clinical trial.
Recommendation
Involvement of patient organisations in national assessments of disease and policy development can help to build consensus.
Rationale
Indicator 7: A specific lung cancer patient organisation has not been identified in Austria, and there is no evidence that patients
were represented in clinical guideline development. Involving patients in the development of clinical guidelines can 1) help to
identify issues that may be overlooked by health professionals, 2) influence the development of recommendations from a patient
and carer perspective, and 3) emphasise the importance of including shared decision making. Workshop participants felt that
involving patient organisations would help them to understand if they were supporting their patients sufficiently.Recommendation
Rapid referral for lung cancer patients to secondary and tertiary care should be prioritised within a specified time period as
there is currently no mention of this in the clinical guidelines.
Rationale
Indicator 9: Providing timeframes within which lung cancer patients receive secondary or tertiary care provide important
milestones for delivery of care. A rapid referral process for moving a patient to secondary or tertiary care is not discussed in either
of the clinical guidelines that are used in Austria. It would benefit lung cancer patients to have pathways and specific timeframes
set in the national lung cancer guidelines.Opportunity 1
Opportunity 2
Opportunity 3
Opportunity 4
Opportunity 5