The expansion of cancer services closer to home has become a major focus of publicly funded healthcare, with cancer organizations attempting to invest in smaller centers by integrating radiotherapy into these facilities. In Canada this has resulted in Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta investing in 12 expanded regional centers over the past 20 years. Quebec, Manitoba and Nova Scotia have made similar investments. Alberta's three new centers opened in 2010, 2013 and 2021 (projected). This study examined improvements in wait times and patient throughput between 2010 and 2020, and highlighted strategies that will support the sustainability and growth of clinical activity through to 2030. Significant improvement in ready to treat wait times for radiotherapy have resulted from opening two centers, and the provincial throughput for patients requiring systemic or radiotherapy has gone up by 16%. A patient satisfaction survey demonstrated that rural patients are happy with their care and desire the provision of more of their cancer treatment closer to home. An expert panel provided recommendations on what needs to be done to stabilize recruitment and retention.

中文翻译：

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放射治疗在艾伯塔省的小城市成功实施了吗？2010-2020 年阿尔伯塔地区癌症中心网络回顾

扩大离家更近的癌症服务已成为公共资助医疗保健的主要焦点，癌症组织试图通过将放射治疗整合到这些设施中来投资于较小的中心。在加拿大，这导致安大略省、不列颠哥伦比亚省和阿尔伯塔省在过去 20 年中投资了 12 个扩大的区域中心。魁北克省、曼尼托巴省和新斯科舍省也进行了类似的投资。艾伯塔省的三个新中心分别于 2010、2013 和 2021 年开业（预计）。该研究审查了 2010 年至 2020 年期间等待时间和患者吞吐量的改善，并强调了将支持临床活动的可持续性和增长到 2030 年的战略。开设两个中心显着改善了放射治疗的准备治疗等待时间，全省需要全身治疗或放疗的患者吞吐量增长了16%。一项患者满意度调查表明，农村患者对他们的护理感到满意，并希望在离家更近的地方提供更多的癌症治疗。一个专家小组就稳定招聘和留用需要采取的措施提出了建议。