Kat McTaggart (centre), pictured with her daughter and fiancé, was one of the first patients to use the patient engagement app in Nova Scotia. CONTRIBUTED
As Kat McTaggart scrolls through an app on her phone, she’s reminded of how far she’s come in her healthcare journey. It’s a bit like reflecting on a journal entry she says.
“I didn't think I made progress, but I'm looking now on May 15 [2023], and my emotions were fear, worry, sadness. You know, frustration, anger. And I don't feel those things now,” Kat shares. “I think that's pretty neat to be able to track that.”
The app that Kat is referring to is the patient engagement app, and it’s helping unlock a new way to manage patient care for registered Nova Scotia Health Cancer Care Program patients.
Kat was one of the first users in Nova Scotia to register for and use the app while she was undergoing radiotherapy at the QEII Health Sciences Centre in 2023. A preventative measure following surgery to remove a brain tumour.
During that time, the patient engagement app was still in the pilot stage and had limited functionality. But for Kat, it proved beneficial. Especially having access to all her appointments at her fingertips and tracking her symptoms and well-being.
“When you’re going through daily radiation for 30 days, and you start to feel tired and unwell, keeping all that information straight can be difficult. The app helps to make things simplified and in one spot; it’s definitely easier for the patient."
Now, the patient engagement app is available to every patient receiving cancer care in the province with more resources and tools to support them.
The free digital tool, developed by Varian, a Siemens Healthineers company, is creating open lines of communication between patients and cancer care teams across the province, enabling proactive and personalized care.
It also provides digital content, like educational videos, to better inform and instruct patients during care. And a place for patients, like Kat, to report their symptoms and how they’re feeling – information they can discuss with their care team at their next appointment.
With the support of the community, the QEII Foundation is raising $1.1 million to fully fund the patient engagement app. The funds will allow the Nova Scotia Health Cancer Care Program to investigate new ways of using the digital tool.
Last fall, CIBC generously donated $500,000 to the project, helping to expand resources for patients and ensuring the app is used to its full potential.
“CIBC’s generous donation will help us identify ways to better reach patients of Nova Scotia receiving care through the Cancer Care Program,” says Dr. Amanda Caissie, a QEII radiation oncologist, department head of radiation oncology at Nova Scotia Health, medical director of the Cancer Care Program’s Oncology Transformation Project (OTP), and innovator in residence at Nova Scotia Health Innovation Hub.
“The difference is between the standard of care we are currently able to provide and the innovation we can contribute to the application. CIBC’s significant contribution will help us discover new ways to use the tool to its full potential for patients and clinicians,” says Dr. Caissie.
A tool that will continue to evolve, the patient engagement app will soon offer the functionality for patients to directly report on their health status, enabling earlier intervention to manage symptoms as patients can relay physical and emotional needs to their healthcare team through the app.
For patients who are managing their symptoms at home, especially those living in rural Nova Scotia, the virtual connection to their cancer care team can help ease their concerns, and in some cases, prevent unnecessary trips to the emergency department.
With approximately 45,000 Nova Scotians receiving some form of cancer care in the province, innovative approaches to help patients access more care are needed.
The patient engagement app is part of Nova Scotia Health’s Oncology Transformation Project (OTP). The project will modernize the way cancer care is delivered and will bring together its key oncology information systems for the first time – with information available in real time.
With OTP, Nova Scotia Health is creating a single access point for cancer patient referrals, triage, and treatment which in turn, will lead to streamlined standardized care, reduced wait times, and provide better outcomes for patients.
Kat says she thinks the expanded version of the app will continue to have a greater impact on patients who are receiving care, including herself.
Last summer, Kat learned that she had another brain tumour. Noting it’s not in an ideal spot for surgical removal, she will likely opt for radiation therapy again. And she knows the patient engagement app will continue to be a valuable resource as she navigates her next steps.
“The days can become blurred when you’re undergoing treatment, and feeling sick and fatigued, or, perhaps just trying to heal. The simplicity to be monitored or reach out to your care team in one easy step through the app will be reassuring for patients,” she says. “It gives you a connection – it makes you feel like you haven’t been forgotten about.”
To learn more or to donate to the patient engagement app, visit QE2Foundation.ca/patient-engagement.
