Implementation of a Web-Based Communication System for Primary Care Providers and Cancer Specialists

Bojana Petrovic; Jacqueline L Bender; Clare Liddy; Amir Afkham; Sharon F McGee; Scott C Morgan; Roanne Segal; Mary Ann O'Brien; Jim A Julian; Jonathan Sussman; Robin Urquhart; Margaret Fitch; Nancy D Schneider; Eva Grunfeld

doi:10.3390/curroncol30030269

Implementation of a Web-Based Communication System for Primary Care Providers and Cancer Specialists

Curr Oncol. 2023 Mar 21;30(3):3537-3548. doi: 10.3390/curroncol30030269.

Authors

Bojana Petrovic^{1

2}, Jacqueline L Bender^{1

3

4}, Clare Liddy^{5

6}, Amir Afkham⁷, Sharon F McGee⁸, Scott C Morgan^{8

9}, Roanne Segal⁸, Mary Ann O'Brien², Jim A Julian¹⁰, Jonathan Sussman¹⁰, Robin Urquhart^{11

12}, Margaret Fitch^{13

14}, Nancy D Schneider¹⁴, Eva Grunfeld^{1

2

4

15}

Affiliations

¹ Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5T 3M7, Canada.
² Department of Family and Community Medicine, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5G 1V7, Canada.
³ Cancer Rehabilitation and Survivorship, Department of Supportive Care, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto, ON M5G 2C4, Canada.
⁴ Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5T 3M7, Canada.
⁵ Bruyère Research Institute, Ottawa, ON K1N 5C8, Canada.
⁶ Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1G 5Z3, Canada.
⁷ Ontario Health East, Ottawa, ON K1J 1J8, Canada.
⁸ The Ottawa Hospital Cancer Centre, Ottawa, ON K1H 8L6, Canada.
⁹ Department of Radiology, Radiation Oncology and Medical Physics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada.
¹⁰ Department of Oncology, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8V 5C2, Canada.
¹¹ Department of Community Health and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 1V7, Canada.
¹² Department of Surgery, Nova Scotia Health, Halifax, NS B3H 2Y9, Canada.
¹³ Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5T 1P8, Canada.
¹⁴ CanIMPACT Patient Advisory Committee, Toronto, ON M5G 1V7, Canada.
¹⁵ Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, Toronto, ON M5G 1N8, Canada.

Abstract

Healthcare providers have reported challenges with coordinating care for patients with cancer. Digital technology tools have brought new possibilities for improving care coordination. A web- and text-based asynchronous system (eOncoNote) was implemented in Ottawa, Canada for cancer specialists and primary care providers (PCPs). This study aimed to examine PCPs' experiences of implementing eOncoNote and how access to the system influenced communication between PCPs and cancer specialists. As part of a larger study, we collected and analyzed system usage data and administered an end-of-discussion survey to understand the perceived value of using eOncoNote. eOncoNote data were analyzed for 76 shared patients (33 patients receiving treatment and 43 patients in the survivorship phase). Thirty-nine percent of the PCPs responded to the cancer specialist's initial eOncoNote message and nearly all of those sent only one message. Forty-five percent of the PCPs completed the survey. Most PCPs reported no additional benefits of using eOncoNote and emphasized the need for electronic medical record (EMR) integration. Over half of the PCPs indicated that eOncoNote could be a helpful service if they had questions about a patient. Future research should examine opportunities for EMR integration and whether additional interventions could support communication between PCPs and cancer specialists.

Keywords: cancer; coordination of care; electronic communication; implementation; primary care.

Publication types

Evaluation Study
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Attitude of Health Personnel*
Breast Neoplasms
Cancer Survivors
Colorectal Neoplasms
Digital Technology* / methods
Digital Technology* / organization & administration
Electronic Health Records / instrumentation
Electronic Health Records / organization & administration
Female
Health Care Surveys
Humans
Internet Access* / statistics & numerical data
Male
Nurse Practitioners
Nurses
Oncologists* / organization & administration
Physicians, Primary Care* / organization & administration
Prostatic Neoplasms
Random Allocation

Grants and funding

TT7-128272/CIHR/Canada