Time consuming and cumbersome. That’s how the team at MaineGeneral Medical Center’s Harold Alfond Center for Cancer Care (HACCC) described managing tumor board conferences to review more than 1,000 cases a year.
Barbara Wiggin, Manager, Radiation Oncology and Cancer Registry, HACCC, and her team, knew there had to be a better way than face these frequent challenges:
- With typically limited direction, physicians emailed registrars a list of patients for conference agendas.
- Pathologists were unsure which specimens had to be reviewed.
- It was unclear to radiologists which images were requested.
- Registrars spent many hours searching for information scattered across multiple systems and locations.
Fortunately, a team member returned from an industry conference with information about a solution – OncoLens.
Everyone was eager to learn more.
Automate the Future
Specifically designed to automate manual processes, OncoLens streamlines workflows associated with tumor board conferences, survivorship care planning and accreditation.
Wiggin estimated the team spent 6-7 hours in preparation for each conference — and they host two conferences per week. “Our initial goal was to reduce the time and resources needed to prepare for tumor board conferences and allow participants to focus more on patients, less on paperwork,” said Wiggin.
Then they implemented the OncoLens SaaS-based platform. It quickly became another important tool to support HACCC’s priorities to meet best practice standards and achieve the highest levels of Commission on Cancer (COC) accreditation possible.
“Today, physicians post their own cases and specify exactly what needs to be reviewed. Preparation time has decreased by more than 90%. Our team provides more value-added services to patients while the entire tumor board experience has improved for the team,” Wiggin said.
Empower Physicians
As with any new platform, team members can be hesitant adjusting to new processes and workflows. However, the HACCC physicians quickly recognized they had more control.
Our physicians like how easy and accessible the information is at the time of a tumor board,” said Marissa Barnett, Specialty Oncology Data Support. “The system notifies each participant exactly what has been requested and is still missing. Having the data collected and digitally available within one location in OncoLens is a game changer for MaineGeneral.
Streamline Accreditation
Prior to implementation, HACCC relied on spreadsheets to track necessary information for accreditation reporting. Barnett and team constantly had to ensure everything was filled out correctly and completely. If a required spreadsheet field was missing, they went back to each of the tumor board notes to locate the information.
“With OncoLens, the accreditation workflow and reporting happen with the click of a button,” said Wiggin. “Since information is collected during the tumor board conference, we are more confident proper steps have been followed and the correct participants are present. In fact, there are smart forms to guide our discussions within OncoLens,” said Wiggin.
Strong Support
The biggest difference the team and Barnett have found with OncoLens is the customer service. “It’s very easy to work with the OncoLens team on all fronts. They are nimble and highly responsive,” said Wiggin.
“For example, we must deliver an end-of-year radiology report. Instead of digging through each case, OncoLens added a check box for surgeons to mark off if a mammogram or breast image must be reviewed. I click a button to pull that report and save hours of tedious work.”
As new team members join, such as Bethany Goodwin, Specialty Oncology Data Support, they are pleasantly surprised how easy it is to learn the tumor board software. “I really enjoy learning about all of the possibilities OncoLens offers. It’s user friendly and keeps everything organized so we can work efficiently,” Goodwin commented.
Connect Facilities
Wiggin and her team have plans to expand OncoLens. To conduct virtual tumor board meetings, they continue to bring additional physicians and pathologists onto the platform, automate more workflows and include additional offsite facilities and smaller hospitals.
“With virtual tumor board meetings in OncoLens, we strive to present more patients sooner, to provide better multi-specialty care. Having all the data, images and documents in one online system, we can support new opportunities to create extreme efficiencies across our facilities,” Wiggin added.
MaineGeneral Medical Center
- Harold Alfond Center for Cancer Care
- Non-profit health system
- Augusta, Maine
- 7,000 cancer patients annually
- 1,700 new diagnosis annually
- 1,000+ cases reviewed in tumor boards annually
Benefits for MaineGeneral Medical Center
- Reduced tumor board prep time more than 90%
- Improved productivity with data and documents in one place
- Streamlined accreditation reporting
About OncoLens
OncoLens develops technologies that improve cancer treatment planning, simplify tumor board management, facilitate survivorship care planning and automate accreditation and quality reporting through an intelligent workflow engine. Visit www.oncolens.com to learn how your center can streamline business processes and enable more informed clinical decision-making.
© 2020 OncoLens, Inc.
