Developing a Global Understanding of Patient Navigation: What Are the Next Steps?

The concept of “patient navigation” can be traced back to the United States over 30 years ago when the American Cancer Society held the “National Hearings on Cancer in the Poor” in 1989.1 After these hearings, the American Cancer Society introduced the first patient navigation program in the early 1990s. The original aim of such a program was to reduce mortality by removing barriers to early detection and reducing time from diagnosis to treatment. A subsequent milestone in the history of patient navigation is the Patient Navigator and Chronic Disease Prevention Act of 2005. After over 30 years of evolution, there are varying definitions of “patient navigation” in practice in the United States today. It is important to note that, over the same period, there have been a range of programs and roles implemented in countries other than the United States. Indeed, there has been overlap in activities and concepts between “patient navigation,” “care coordination,” and “case management...