Innovation in cancer treatment
information delivery
by Natalie Cook, Shelley Rushton, Jen Bichel-Findlay, Sue Sinclair, Robyn Ward
More news & opinion articles
eviQ - Cancer Treatments Online provides access to over 900 peer reviewed online cancer treatments and protocols
Background
Utilising the existing eviQ Cancer Treatments Online resource (formerly CI-SCaT), that is currently used extensively in the hospital setting, Cancer Australia have funded a project to provide cancer treatment information for primary care clinicians; the focus being general practitioners, community and practice nurses, and remote and rural clinicians. In the primary care area breast and colorectal tumours have been populated, and further funding has been provided to populate lung, prostate and gynaecological tumours, by July 2010.
Summary
As cancer incidence rates rise and the population continues to age, the need for quality information for all clinicians relating to a cancer patient's care will continue to be a high priority. The delivery of best practice care to cancer patients requires a sound understanding of the contemporary literature, key evidence and internationally accepted standards. It also involves the administration of cytotoxic drugs and managing the associated side effects 24 hours per day. In an environment where services lack the specialised expertise and resources to maintain currency of the increasingly complex cancer care, rural and remote clinicians may find access to evidence based information challenging.
The delivery of best practice care to cancer patients requires a sound understanding of the contemporary literature, key evidence and internationally accepted standards.
Additionally, practice based assessment and teaching and learning can be challenging if information is not readily available and easily understood. The differing levels of clinician and clinical expertise coupled with the differing levels of required knowledge all lend itself to the need for a flexible, comprehensive cancer treatment information resource that can cater for a wide range of users. eviQ - Cancer Treatments Online (formerly CI-SCaT), an Australian based resource launched in September 2009, provides access to over 900 peer reviewed online cancer treatments and protocols. eviQ blends evidence with practical realities and is available at no cost to the user.
The addition of the primary care content area further enhances the eviQ resource and provides cohesion between the primary, secondary and tertiary health settings. This primary care content area includes, but is not limited to treatment and side effect management, clinical tools, an opioid conversion calculator, safe handling of cytotoxics, resources and links, and tumour specific resources and information.