Utilization of a virtual collaboration portal to improve communication, education, and quality of care across a network of practices.

Abstract

320 Background: Technological advancements allow community oncologists to improve quality of patient care. By offering online access to treatment protocols, colleague collaboration, and clinical resources in a centralized environment, practices may realize efficiencies that can translate to better patient care. Methods: We characterized development and ongoing enhancements of The Oncology Portal from Dec 2010 to April 2012, provided to >1,000 physicians. Characterization is qualitative and quantitative. Qualitative characteristics of functionality enhancements accommodated clinical communication and educational content. Quantitative analysis evaluated discussion notifications, content consumption clicks and discussion posts and comments. Results: The Portal leveraged evolving technology to implement incremental, strategic enhancements for medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, gynecologic oncologists, pharmacists, researchers, and mid-level providers. These enhancements provided the framework to drive practice efficiency and improve patient care by extending access to all practice clinicians. Initial enhancements included expanding discussion boards to include researchers and mid-level providers. Additional enhancements included mobile access to discussions, wiki, and two expert programs. Educational content was augmented to include evidence-based resources, including journals, drug information, conference coverage, treatment guidelines, disease-specific CME, and clinical trials. A respectable increase in utilization was observed, as shown in the Table. Conclusions: Portal enhancements and expanded content occurred gradually, utilization increased across the network over the study period, and interest in The Portal remains high. Utilization was likely facilitated by content enhancements improving practice quality and efficiency. [Table: see text]