The South and East Scotland Cancer Database (SESCD) launched on its new SQL Server platform in November 2019. As a significant step forward from our old Microsoft Access database, the new database, hosted by NHS Lothian eHealth, now provides a capable basis for wide ranging uses of cancer data, from simple clinical audit to advanced predictive modelling projects.
You can read about the database and view it’s data dictionary on our wiki pages.
Edinburgh Cancer Centre Oncology Specialty Registrar Ashley Horne @AshHorne1983 used data visualisation to demonstrate the power of Scottish prescribing data for complex treatment sequencing in metastatic breast cancer at the 2019 European Society of Medical Oncology annual conference. Full poster: ESMO_2019_Optimized
SCAN, the South East Scotland Cancer Network, has been awarded funding from the Cancer Innovation Challenge to trial an implementation of a regional platform for PROMs and PREMs in cancer care in South East Scotland. SCAN will be working with CIC Phase 2‘s My Clinical Outcomes.
The project kick off meeting took place on 5 August 2019 and we are looking forward to hearing more from the 6 month trial in due course.
In the meantime, find out more about the project below.
Implementing a regional platform for PROMs and PREMs in cancer care in South East Scotland
There is good evidence that the care of cancer patients can be improved by asking them to report on their health using validated questionnaires. Patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) are questionnaires patients complete on their health and quality of life. Patient reported experience measures (PREMs) measure allow patients to feedback on the service they receive. The information collected from PROMs can help to monitor patient progress, help professionals and patients discuss health issues with each other and help to improve the quality of health services.
The South East Scotland Cancer Network (SCAN) and the Edinburgh Cancer Centre (ECC) are working with the digital technology company My Clinical Outcomes (MCO) to implement the use of PROMs in routine care. Initial pilots are likely to take place in specific groups of patients:
Information that patients record using PROMs will be available to the clinical teams to assist in treatment or to advise patients on how to manage their condition. The SCAN Health Boards will also be able to use PROMs to assess how patients are affected by their cancer and by the services that are provided to care for them.
The SCAN Cancer PROMs pilot aims to align with other similar initiatives in Scotland to provide a comprehensive PROMs service to enable national comparisons of the outcome from treatment. The ultimate goal is joined-up patient-centred care for all cancer patients that is fit for purpose in the new digital healthcare era.
