Using information technology (IT) to improve communication between the emergency room and cancer clinic.

Abstract

158 Background: A communication gap was identified at the Cancer Centre of Southeastern Ontario which resulted in oncologists at the cancer centre (CC) not consistently being informed when oncology patients (pt) were seen in the emergency room (ER). An automated IT notification system was developed to inform oncologists when their pt were seen in the ER. Methods: Pt who had been seen within 60 days in the CC were considered active. An IT notification system linked active CC visits and ER visits. A list was generated daily of pt that were both CC and in the ER and this was emailed through a secure system to treating oncologists. Following six months of usage an evaluation was performed which identified which pt were being seen in ER (by disease site, treatment regimen and other factors). A survey evaluated oncologist feedback regarding usefulness of this system. Results: From December 2014 to May 2015 notifications were analyzed. A total of 773 pt (12% of total active cancer patients) had an ER visit resulting in 1267 visits; 56% of pt had more than one visit. Thirty-three percent of visits result in admission to the hospital. The highest usage of the ER was palliative care (26% of pt) and hematology (29% of visits). The risk of dying in the three months following an ER visit was 20% as compared to < 2% for all pt seen in the ER during that time period. Sixty-three percent of the 41 oncologists responded to a survey. The majority used this notification system (85%) and found that the report improved patient care (87%). Oncologists typically used this information to check up on pt information on the electronic medical record and if appropriate visited pt that had been admitted to hospital. Conclusions: Cancer pt who have an ER visit are now automatically being reported to the treating oncologists. This process has been able to identify at risk pt for ER visits and this information will be used to develop targeted measures for these high risk populations. The report is very popular with oncologists and is now considered standard practice at our CC.