Leveraging Technology to Develop an Express Symptom Management Program & Prevent Oncology ED Visits

This cancer program used a business intelligence-enabled dashboard to collect and analyze data on emergency department (ED) visits, admits, and discharges. These data were then used to improve patient triage and evaluation through development of an Express Symptom Management program. After targeted in-service training and education to clinical teams and patients on utilization of the new program, only 2% of patients needed to be seen in the ED, with the rest receiving symptom management by phone, participating in a virtual clinic visit, and/or coming into the infusion suite for in-person assessment and treatment. Improvement efforts around patient self-management and triage to the Express Symptom Management program also included development of a pre- and post-initial infusion visit via Epic MyChart.

Guest:

Dana Salcedo, MSN, APRN, NP-C

Oncology Nurse Practitioner, Express Symptom Management & Outpatient Infusion

Orlando Health Cancer Institute

Orlando, Florida

“Ultimately our role was to prevent ED admissions, but also to help reduce stress, manage common side effects, and to let patients know they had a resource available to them at a moment’s notice.”

This podcast is part of a special series with the 2023 ACCC Innovator Award winners. For a deeper dive into this and other content that will help your team reimagine how care is delivered at your cancer program or practice, register today for the ACCC 40th National Oncology Conference, Oct. 4-6, in Austin Texas.

Resources:

Deploying Technology Across an Interdisciplinary Team to Improve Oral Oncolytic Compliance

Expediting Cancer Treatment Through a Rapid Access APP-Led Diagnostic Clinic

An APP-Physician Model Improves Risk Stratification and Palliative Care

Reducing ED Visits and Hospital Admissions after Chemotherapy with Predictive Modeling of Risk Factors

Utilizing Technology to Identify Patient Co-Morbidities and Reduce Hospital and ED Admissions

Right Place, Right Provider, Right Time: Implementing Our 24-Hour Cancer Clinic