MOBILE APPLICATION FOR CANCER SURVIVORS

Both the Institute of Medicine and the American Society of Clinical Oncology recommend follow-up care plans for cancer survivors. but the incorporation of these plans has been limited and they are not well integrated into processes of care coordination.

However, Dutch researchers have developed a mobile application that could help cancer survivors access this information.

In a letter published online in the November 18 issue of theJournal of Clinical Oncology, they explain that their Survivor Care app serves as a carrier for electronic personal survivorship care plans.

"The app was launched in the Netherlands last year," said researcher Jourik A. Gietema, MD PhD, professor of medical oncology at the University Medical Center Groningen, the Netherlands. "In the first phase, the app was evaluated as part of a trial of a shared-care survivorship care program for patients with testicular cancer, who are subjected to an intense follow-up schedule after treatment with chemotherapy for metastatic disease."

"The app is now available for nationwide use in the Netherlands," he told Medscape Medical News."Patients are especially pleased with the overview of their survivorship care that is provided by the app."

Dr. Gietema and colleagues point to a recently published conceptual framework that advocated embedding survivor care in the context of models of care, processes of care, and technology platforms (J Clin Oncol. 2013;31:2651-2653). Their mobile app is comprised of many of the theoretical concepts that made up that framework. With this information at their fingertips, "survivors not only know what care needs to be provided, but also when, where, and by whom (e.g., oncologist, nurse practitioner, or primary care physician)," they write.

The treating oncologist enters relevant data from a patient's health records into a Web-based plan generator. Algorithms that follow existing guidelines are used to personalize care plans to the individual (diagnosis, comorbidities, treatment). The data are then encoded in a QR code that can be scanned by the Survivor Care app directly from the oncologist's computer screen, which not only ensures a convenient data transfer but also limits security risks.

"At the moment, the app is suitable for use in the Netherlands only," explained Dr. Gietema. "The survivorship care plan generator is based on Dutch guidelines. However, the app and a supporting Web site are accessible in countries worldwide, including the United States."

An English version of the app can be downloaded from the App Store. Oncologists can test the app and the plan generator on the University Medical Center Groningen Survivor Web site.

Coauthor Arjan W. Duijzer has an employment/leadership position with Nxt Step in Leiden, the Netherlands.

J Clin Oncol. Published online November 18, 2013. Abstract