Aims:
The value of implementing patient-reported outcome (PRO) in routine cancer care is increasingly recognised. This project aims to outline our five-year experience developing, validating, implementing and expanding “ScreenIT”, a web-based patient-generated screening tool, into routine clinical care.
Methods:
Following a five phase methodology (consultation, needs analysis, psychometric testing, anthropometric testing/pre-implementation planning, and “go live”) alongside partnering with patients and their family, ScreenIT has been developed, tested and implemented into routine clinical care with patients with head and neck cancer (HNC). ScreenIT is undergoing expansion into lung, oesophageal, brain and haematological cancers.
Results:
In the HNC population (n = 100), we found an overservicing for swallowing/nutrition by 24% and underservicing of distress. ScreenIT was more sensitive for detecting number and severity of treatment-related side effects, when compared to clinician assessment. Since June 2015, ScreenIT has been used by patients (n = 436) and their family members (n = 141) on a weekly basis during radiotherapy treatment. With a completion rate of 80%, ScreenIT achieved cancellation of up to 25% of overall appointments that were unnecessary, and a cost saving of $386,000/year. Expansion into the broader cancer population (n=309) has found a 205 (66%) reported at least one or more health concerns requiring MDT intervention, which were not identified by clinicians up to 80% of the time.
Conclusions:
ScreenIT is a web-based PRO used clinically to streamline health services for patients with head and neck cancer and their families. It is undergoing expansion across all cancer types to provide risk management algorithms and referral pathways for all members of the cancer multidisciplinary, in partnership with patients and their family.