INDIANAPOLIS – Use of the Personal Health Record for Colorectal Cancer Survivors, a brand new on-line software particularly tailor-made to fulfill the wants of and make assist out there for the greater than 1.5 million people within the U.S. with a historical past of colorectal most cancers, produced a big improve in adherence by survivors to nationwide tips recommending essential follow-up, particularly colonoscopy surveillance and blood work. A feasibility examine from Regenstrief Institute, the VA, and Indiana University’s colleges of medication and nursing analysis scientists validates performance of the patient-centered software they developed, opening the door for his or her bigger examine of the software’s use by these navigating the trail ahead following colorectal most cancers surgical procedure.
Unlike digital well being data, that are managed by clinicians and healthcare techniques, the Personal Health Record for Colorectal Cancer Survivors is managed by the survivors themselves. The on-line software is securely out there when and the place the survivor needs to entry it to view contents or add info.
This customized focus allows colorectal most cancers survivors to trace, assist handle and mitigate the affect of their illness — given its particular location and stage in addition to different medical situations and present remedy. Features of the software embody an updateable abstract of most cancers remedy historical past, a follow-up care and surveillance schedule, reminder features, identification of role-based people (main care doctor, oncologist, social employee, caregiver) with whom they could want to share all or parts of their private well being file, specifics on uncomfortable side effects of prescribed medicines, group assets and different helpful, customized features — resembling a safe message functionality — which allows sufferers to ship and obtain messages from people with whom they’ve created a relationship. This may embody clinicians, members of the family, mates or different colorectal most cancers survivors.
The Personal Health Record for Colorectal Cancer Survivors additionally supplies survivors with the chance to enter details about signs they could be experiencing – for instance, ache, anxiousness, despair, sleep issues, fatigue – and generates a timeline monitoring the depth of the signs over the quick and long run. Based on this info, the software supplies them with tips or self-management approaches to handle these signs at house, or, if the signs attain a high-level of severity, the software guides them to attach with their suppliers.
“This is a system that we built leveraging OpenMRS, an open source electronic medical record system platform developed at the Regenstrief Institute, and tailored it to respond to and meet the specific needs of colorectal patients and survivors. It’s really a shift in who has access, even ownership of the survivor’s health record,” mentioned Regenstrief Institute Center for Health Services Research Director David Haggstrom, M.D., MAS, senior creator of the brand new examine and co-designer of the net software. “Combining patient-centered design with our extensive experience with doctor-patient communication and electronic medical records we saw an increase in adherence to national guidelines recommending critical follow-up by colorectal cancer survivors using the tool.” Dr. Haggstrom is also a analysis scientist on the Richard L. Roudebush Veterans’ Administration Medical Center in Indianapolis, an affiliate professor at IU School of Medicine and a researcher on the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center.
According to the American Cancer Society, roughly one in 23 males and one in 25 girls within the U.S. shall be identified with colorectal most cancers of their lifetime. For many, their most cancers will reoccur after surgical procedure underscoring the essential want for post-procedure follow-up. The World Health Organization lists colorectal most cancers because the second most typical reason behind most cancers demise on the planet in 2020 with 916,000 fatalities.
The software is targeted on activating survivors, giving them the flexibility and confidence to play a job in managing their very own care when confronted with a probably life-threatening illness. Going ahead, the researchers will discover methods for customers to combine the software into their anxious lives and plan to work with clinicians and directors on how this patient-centered expertise can probably be paired with the affected person’s digital well being file.
“The general framework that we’ve taken with colorectal cancer survivors is one that can serve as a guide for designing technologies for other cancer populations or types of cancer. But, in my experience, the clinical details and unique needs of different types of cancer require different approaches,” mentioned Regenstrief Institute Research Scientist Eric Vachon, PhD, R.N., the examine’s corresponding creator whose analysis is targeted on the symptom administration of most cancers sufferers and on the combination of patient-reported outcomes and signs inside digital medical data. Dr. Vachon is also an assistant professor at IU School of Nursing and a researcher on the IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center.
“I think that there is a huge opportunity to implement personal health records among all types of cancer more widely and to design and test them for the many types of cancer there are,” mentioned Dr. Haggstrom. “When folks take into consideration most cancers, they usually assume of a giant monolithic illness, and together with coronary heart illness, most cancers is certainly one of many two most prevalent ailments among the many U.S. inhabitants. But most cancers is many ailments they usually all require their very own distinctive approaches, so there’s a lot work forward of us all – clinicians, analysis groups, sufferers and caregivers.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) one in three folks residing within the U.S. may have some kind of most cancers throughout their lifetime. Approximately 600,000 folks within the U.S. die of most cancers yearly.
“Impact of a Personal Health Record Intervention Upon Surveillance Among Colorectal Cancer Survivors: Feasibility Study” is printed in JMIR Cancer. In addition to Drs. Haggstrom and Vachon, colorectal surgeon Bruce W. Robb, M.D., of IU School of Medicine, is an creator.
Funding for this mission was supplied by the Livestrong Foundation and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Office of Research and Development, Health Services Research and Development Project #CDA 07-016. Funding was additionally supplied by the National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute Training Grant T32CA117865.
David A. Haggstrom, M.D., MAS
In addition to his position as director of the Regenstrief Institute’s Center for Health Services Research, David A. Haggstrom, M.D., MAS, is a core investigator for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Health Services Research and Development Center for Health Information and Communication, Richard L. Roudebush VA Medical Center. He can also be Sam Regenstrief Scholar in Health Sciences Research and an affiliate professor of medication at Indiana University School of Medicine and a researcher on the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center.
About Eric Vachon, PhD, R.N.
In addition to being a analysis scientist on the Regenstrief Institute, Eric Vachon, PhD, R. N., is an assistant professor at Indiana University School of Nursing and a researcher on the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center.
About Regenstrief Institute
Founded in 1969 in Indianapolis, the Regenstrief Institute is an area, nationwide and world chief devoted to a world the place higher info empowers folks to finish illness and understand true well being. A key analysis accomplice to Indiana University, Regenstrief and its analysis scientists are chargeable for a rising variety of main healthcare improvements and research. Examples vary from the event of world well being info expertise requirements that allow the use and interoperability of digital well being data to bettering patient-physician communications, to creating fashions of care that inform follow and enhance the lives of sufferers across the globe.
Sam Regenstrief, a nationally profitable entrepreneur from Connersville, Indiana, based the institute with the objective of creating healthcare extra environment friendly and accessible for everybody. His imaginative and prescient continues to information the institute’s analysis mission.
About the VA Health Services Research and Development Center for Health Information and Communication
Located on the Richard L. Roudebush VA Medical Center, the Health Services Research and Development (HSR&D) Center for Health Information and Communication (CHIC) group is a various cadre of researchers collaborating to rework the healthcare system, each inside and outdoors the VA so each affected person receives constant, high-quality care.
About IU School of Medicine
IU School of Medicine is the most important medical college within the U.S. and is yearly ranked among the many high medical colleges within the nation by U.S. News & World Report. The college provides high-quality medical training, entry to main medical analysis and wealthy campus life in 9 Indiana cities, together with rural and concrete areas persistently acknowledged for livability.
About IU School of Nursing
Indiana University School of Nursing is without doubt one of the largest nursing colleges within the nation that gives a full vary of packages from undergraduate to doctoral. Almost 23,000 IUSON alumni throughout the globe are empowered to be leaders in medical follow, analysis, training, and innovation. The School’s Master’s program is ranked within the high 30 nationwide by U.S. News & World Report Best Graduate Schools Rankings, and the Bachelor’s in Nursing Science is ranked #1 in Indiana by U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges rankings.
Article Title
Impact of a Personal Health Record Intervention Upon Surveillance Among Colorectal Cancer Survivors: Feasibility Study
Article Publication Date
11-Aug-2022