Oncology Information System: A Qualitative Study to Identify Cancer Patient Care Workflows

Oncology information systems provide solutions for managing the information of cancer patients and enable monitoring of different aspects of cancer patient care. Since the use of oncology information systems enhances the quality of care, improves documentation, optimizes resource allocation, and inc...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of medicine and life 2020-10, Vol.13 (4), p.469-474
Main Author: Yazdanian, Azadeh
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accuracy
Adult
Cancer
Cancer therapies
Chemotherapy
Diagnosis
Documentation
Female
Hospitals
Humans
Information Systems
Interviews
Iran
Male
Medical diagnosis
Medical errors
Medical Oncology
Middle Aged
Neoplasms - diagnosis
Neoplasms - therapy
Oncology
Original
Palliative care
Patient Care
Patients
Qualitative Research
Radiation therapy
Resource allocation
Workflow
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Summary:Oncology information systems provide solutions for managing the information of cancer patients and enable monitoring of different aspects of cancer patient care. Since the use of oncology information systems enhances the quality of care, improves documentation, optimizes resource allocation, and increases the cost-effectiveness of care services, attention to these systems' performance and their adaptation to workflows seems necessary. The purpose of this study was to identify cancer patient care workflows to design an oncology information system for Iran. This study employed a qualitative design and was conducted in 2019. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 25 experts to determine their views on identifying workflows for cancer patients' care. The participants were clinical and non-clinical staff at six university hospitals equipped with oncology wards. The method of data analysis was framework analysis. The cancer patient care workflows consisted of two categories, including cancer diagnosis workflows and cancer treatment workflows. Cancer diagnosis workflows fall into three subcategories, i.e., the patient's referral to the clinic, an examination of the patient's condition, and pathology workflows. On the other hand, cancer treatment workflows are divided into various treatments offered to cancer patients and workflows in the chemotherapy and radiotherapy wards. Given the variety of services and the complexity of caring for cancer patients as well as the involvement of various specialists in the process of care, identifying and optimizing workflows in the oncology information system reduces errors, enhances data accuracy, eliminates unnecessary steps, and ultimately improve the service delivery to cancer patients.
ISSN:1844-122X
1844-3117
DOI:10.25122/jml-2019-0169