When Margaret Palmeter’s mother Maureen was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer the family knew she was in for a difficult journey not only battling the disease, but also navigating the complicated and disconnected world of cancer treatment in Nova Scotia.
The many health care professionals involved in her care had no easy way to share information about patients, relying on phone calls, fax or emails. It was even more difficult for a patient needing information or advice.
“When she was having an adverse event, her options at the time were to go to the emergency room or leave a voicemail,” said Palmeter.
The future will be different. Nova Scotia Health is rolling out the Oncology Transformation Project (OTP) using software designed and developed by industry partner Varian to allow real time communication between cancer centres, community oncology clinics and their patients. It will be a single access point for referrals, triage and treatment. Patients can log on at home to ask questions and get answers from their doctors. Software will track the patient through every aspect of their care, from appointments to test results. All oncology disciplines involved in their care will be able to share and access information instantly. The OTP is also a Health Learning System, meaning that data will inform what is working well and what is needed to improve the cancer care program.
“It’s a powerful tool,” said Dr. Amanda Caissie, Innovator in Residence at the Nova Scotia Health Innovation Hub and the Medical Lead for the Oncology Transformation Project. “It’s giving us optimism. It’s giving clinicians the hope and patients as well. The patient should see a difference in their care. They won’t have to repeat their story multiple times or feel a delay that’s happened because the teams haven’t been able to communicate seamlessly.”
Nova Scotia is the first site in North America to use the platform, and the world is watching. Dr. Caissie has presented the project nationally and internationally, from the BC Cancer to the European Society for Radiation Oncology. “Everyone is looking at us because we are hoping this will increase access, decrease wait times and improve patient care.”
Dr. Caissie also believes Nova Scotia will have more success recruiting and retaining clinicians “if we can show that we’ve got technology, we’re up to date, that we are able to offer opportunities for innovation. You cannot attract clinicians in cancer internationally in a competitive way without having these types of initiatives that show commitment to transforming what you’re trying to do for cancer care.”
Dr. Gail Tomblin Murphy, Vice President, Research, Innovation and Discovery and Chief Nurse Executive of Nova Scotia Health says OTP is truly transformative. “It is bringing our vision of being leaders on many fronts such as artificial intelligence and digital health and in bringing care and access closer to home, in supporting our clinicians and teams in providing the right care at the right time by enabling access to timely patient information and enhancing our ability to coordinate care across services.
“We are closer than ever to being a Learning Health System and we are eager to scale learnings across the system,” said Dr. Tomblin Murphy.
For Margaret Palmeter, the Oncology Transformation Project is where her professional and personal life collide. She is not only the daughter of a cancer patient, but also the Senior Director of Business Development for the Nova Scotia Health Innovation Hub. When Nova Scotia Health’s Cancer Care Program came to the Health Innovation Hub looking for a digital solution that would modernize cancer care, she helped pull together the industry partners, clinicians and decision makers to make it happen in less than 12 months.
“The Cancer Care Program knew what they needed, they knew what they wanted, they just needed help getting there,” said Palmeter. “We were able to negotiate this deal in record time because the need is now. Those timelines in some circles are unbelievable.”
Dr. Caissie credits the Health Innovation Hub with getting this done by putting all the partners in the same room. “I am 100 per cent certain we could not have done this without the Innovation Hub. This initiative was a partnership between government, a health authority, an industry partner and the cancer care program. It was the Innovation Hub that was that liaison and had the connections to have those conversations and build that partnership.”
It’s a professional milestone for Palmeter and also one with deep personal meaning.
“My mom will never again have to leave a message on a voicemail and not know if she is going to get a call back. She will have a system in her hands and the ability for her care team to access the right information at the right time, which for me on a personal level is probably the most meaningful project I could ever envision being involved in in my life.”
