Launch of the Centre for Health Services Research in Cancer
11 July 2025
Peter Mac’s new Centre for Health Services Research in Cancer will drive system-level improvements in healthcare delivery, informed by everyday patient experiences.
The Centre will investigate how care is accessed, how patients experience their treatment, how resources can be used more efficiently and how systems can be improved.
Recognising its key role in improving patient outcomes and ensuring sustainable models of care, establishing this Centre was a goal in Peter Mac’s Research Strategic Plan (2025-30).
Peter Mac’s chair Professor Rosemary McKenzie said the new Centre was about finding ways to improve patient lives that go "well beyond clinical breakthroughs”.
“Health services research is very much about strengthening systems and services,” Professor McKenzie said at today's official launch.
“This Centre also reflects our commitment to making cancer care safer, smarter, more equitable and person centred."
Professor McKenzie said as cancer care becomes more complex, personalised and effective: “we need to ensure our systems evolve too. This centre will help us do exactly that”.
“It will generate the evidence we need to design better models of care, it will support teams to embed research into every practice, and will ensure we continue to lead in delivering care that is co-ordinated, equitable and outcomes focussed,” she said.
The new Centre builds on and will carry forward the impactful work of Peter Mac’s Department of Health Services Research and Implementation Science.
To date, this has included developing programs in:
- Cancer prevention, diagnosis, treatment and patient support,
- Development and implementation of models of care across cancer pathways,
- Digital innovation using an applied Learning Health Systems approach, and
- Evaluating and enhancing the effectiveness of a variety of interventions in improving patient and carer outcomes during and after treatment.
In addition, the new Centre will serve as a collaborative hub, providing leadership and coordination across multiple departments, institutions and health systems.
As inaugural Director of the new Centre, Professor Karin Thursky said: "Health services research is a key opportunity to optimise how we deliver high quality patient care”.
She uses the analogy of an iceberg to explain the importance of health services research and the new level of information it can make available at the clinical front-line.
“Our clinicians are only using a tiny proportion of data to make their decisions and there is a whole lot underneath the water - including a lot of qualitative data - that is not accessible to them,” Professor Thursky says.
“Data is the no.1 priority for our centre.”
Professor Thursky said an initial focus of the Centre would be the implementation of Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) across Peter Mac.
This is a systematic way to capture patient perspectives, with this information providing an evidence base that can be used to improve services.
“PROMS are important because it is a direct communication from the patient through to their care delivery,” Prof Thursky says.
“We must have PROMS in place so that we can actually ensure that we continue improving our cancer programs and to support optimisation of care.”
The Centre will also:
- Forge new partnerships with communities, researchers, clinicians and government
- Ensure Peter Mac operates in accord with the Australian and Victorian Cancer Plans
- Develop policies that promote evidence-based, cost-effective models of care
- Ensure patient voices are heard and inform this change.