As cancer care becomes increasingly sophisticated and complex, the information, image data and steps that comprise a single patient’s healthcare journey has grown dramatically. The Oncology Information System (OIS) has evolved over the last decade as a tool to centralise the patient’s electronic medical record (EMR) in one easily accessible place and to manage the treatment process from referral to treatment and beyond.
However centres’ also want customisation, flexibility and greaterautomation in their software systems, to link other applications and services and maximise efficiency in the department while deliveringpersonalised care for patients.
The Challenge
New technology advancements, better knowledge and closer collaboration with caregivers on the front line has enabled leading oncology information systems (OIS) providers like Elekta to deliver a level of customisation through a flexible user interface. This enables users to tailor workspace panes and screens to their specific roles and responsibilities and, by utilising assessments, care plans and Quality Checklists (QCL’s) within the OIS, has enabled clinicians to streamline the patient workflow throughout treatment. But heavy reliance on manual interactions still remain – for example, notifying the dosimetrist to create the treatment plan, requesting repeat scans, ordering additional lab tests or assigning a task to a staff member.
Oncology software vendors are challenged by how much flexibility and customisation they can allow users without creating an unwieldy problem of software maintenance. To bring more advanced customisation to users means giving clinics more control of the software to shape the way their OIS behaves, the data it collects and how it collects it.
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