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Jonathan Wang and Professor Greg Zaric wrote this case solely to provide material for class discussion. The authors do not intend to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of a managerial situation. The authors may have disguised certain names and other identifying information to protect confidentiality.

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Copyright © 2015, Richard Ivey School of Business Foundation Version: 2016-08-12

INTRODUCTION

Jonathan Wang, a new planning analyst at Cancer Care Ontario (CCO), has been tasked by the director of Capital Projects at CCO to recommend a strategy for allocating new linear accelerator capacity to cancer treatment centres over the five-year period from 2013 and 2017.

CANCER CARE ONTARIO

CCO is an Ontario government agency that leads multi-year system planning of cancer treatment resources, manages contracts for services with hospitals and providers, develops and deploys information systems, establishes clinical guidelines and standards, and tracks performance targets to ensure system- wide improvements in treatment and access to care for cancer and chronic kidney disease. One of the driving values behind CCO’s mandate is to ensure that Ontarians with cancer receive the best quality care possible.

In April 2012, CCO launched its Radiation Treatment Capital Investment Strategy (RTCIS), which outlined recommendations for capital investments in radiation treatment machines to meet the demand for radiation treatment in Ontario.1 This strategy is important for cancer patients as it aims to ensure that the system has sufficient capacity for those who would benefit from radiation treatment. Several problems are associated with insufficient capacity: some patients who should receive radiation therapy might not receive it, or might not receive it in a timely manner; some patients may be required to travel to an Ontario cancer centre other than their local centre or to other jurisdictions at high personal cost; and some patients may be required to substitute for other treatments that are not as effective as radiation therapy for their condition. In some cases, a system-w