Practice Management
Can an Oncology Information System Improve Radiation Therapy Safety and Patient Confidence?
Article Head Author1
Laura Francis Post and Organisation
Business Marketing Manager, Business Software Systems, Elekta Ltd
Abstract
Radiation therapy has become one of the safest and most effective methods for treating cancer. Over half of all cancer patients undergo radiotherapy, either as the sole treatment technique or combined with other therapies. As technologies evolve and improve, radiotherapy techniques become increasingly sophisticated, requiring more time and skill to ensure delivery as prescribed. Such is the increasing complexity of treatments that technology providers are trying to keep up with demand for more and more advanced computing power to manage the need for immensely precise and powerful tools. Today the need for oncology information systems and electronic medical records is paramount in providing the tools for image management, data and workflow control supporting individual patient demographics, treatment planning, delivery and follow-up.
Keywords
Radiation therapy, chemotherapy, oncology information systems, cancer IT solutions, radiation safety, radiation treatment, integrated oncology systems
Disclosure: Laura Francis is an employee of Elekta Ltd. Acknowledgement: The author would like to thank Frank Lohr, Department of Radiation Oncology, University Medical Centre Mannheim and Karla Torzsok, Chief Medical Physicist and Technical Director, Centre Medical de Forcilles-Grupo Instituto Madrileño de Oncología, for their contributions to this article. Received: 2 June 2011 Accepted: 25 July 2011 Citation: European Oncology & Haematology, 2011:7(3):165–6 Correspondence: Laura Francis, Business Marketing Manager, Business Software Systems, Elekta Ltd, Elekta AB, PO Box 7593, Stockholm, SE-103 93, Sweden. E:
laura.francis@
elekta.com
Support: The publication of this article was funded by Elekta Ltd.
Streamlining Workflow Efficiencies An oncology information system (OIS) (see Figure 1) can help clinicians to verify that they are treating the right patient, the right site and with the right procedure, giving patients more confidence in their care. Patient identification (ID) matching, validity checks, multi-level approvals, image registration and review alerts, timeouts and quality checklists all play their part in helping to deliver safer radiation therapy treatment.
In treatment planning, exporting treatment plans quickly and efficiently via digital imaging communication in medicine (DICOM) radiotherapy (RT) to an OIS provides quick and easy to use tools to perform image review and comparison. As DICOM RT is the standard platform for plans and images, the format is the same across vendors, ensuring consistency and efficiency. From this information, confident and efficient treatment decisions can be made.
State-of-the-art systems have created their own challenges in treatment planning and patient workflow management – not of the individual patient but planning across a number of patients and a number of treatment sessions. This has accelerated the need for electronic medical records (EMR). Automating clinical and administrative processes via an EMR gives clinicians the point-of-care tools they need to deliver better patient care. But does this go far enough?
© TOUCH BRIEFINGS 2011
To improve clinical practice overall, a comprehensive oncology information system enables clinics to move beyond basic automation and convert EMR data into aggregated, multidimensional information to support important decision-making in treatment of, and improving, patient outcomes. The University Medical Centre Mannheim in Germany uses an OIS solution throughout their radiotherapy department.
Professor Frank Lohr, University Medical Centre Mannheim, said: “Centralised integrated systems enable the distribution of patient data, treatment plans, etc., between departments, hospitals (e.g. for a second opinion) and even countries, ensuring safer treatment and reducing the opportunity for human error and lost information.
Safety is now further increased by the addition of biometrical or radio frequency identification (RFID) of patients and auxiliary devices. The ability to circulate plans to treatment centres can enable treatment closer to patients’ homes and avoids the need to travel to major centres, ultimately improving patient quality of life.
“Clearly, in such a progressive and flexible treatment environment, having a reliable but open oncology information system such as MOSAIQ from Elekta, that works across multiple centres is essential, and is fast becoming the gold-standard approach.”
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