New App for Alberta Cancer Patients

Jackie

I recently came across some information that might be important for women with ovarian cancer in Alberta. A Calgary tech start-up HAnalytics Solutions has launched a new digital tool that will help patients and their caregivers track and record their cancer journey. I know from personal experience that managing health-care data such as appointment dates, medications, treatments and side-effects can become scattered— there were times when I found it almost overwhelming. Zoelnsights is an innovative, digital app that will allow patients and their caregivers to manage this complexity of information more easily. 

According to the Alberta Cancer Foundation the secure app will allow patients and caregivers to efficiently log all information related to their cancer experience, whether that’s questions, observations, photos or consultation notes. ZoeInsights can also keep track of appointments, medications, supplements and dosages in a streamlined way. Finally, patients using the app will be readily able to access searchable information on drugs and therapy as well as their personal diagnosis summary. This will enable them to actively participate in managing and coordinating interactions with their health-care teams.

Bluebird

Hi @Jackie..thanks for the information on the app..I know going through my first cancer treatments I wrote stuff down..on a million pieces of paper..some in my cancer journal..this I think will keep my journey much more organized..thank you.

Jackie

@Bluebird  I hope I don’t face a recurrence of my cancer in the near future, but if I do I’m glad there will be this technology available. I have a whole binder full of documents and information from when I was undergoing surgery and chemotherapy treatment eight years ago. I’m also really excited that the new Calgary Cancer Centre is scheduled to open in 2023, it will have double the capacity to treat patients and feature ultramodern technology. I captured this photograph from the Calgary Cancer Centre’s public webcam on the evening of May 26, 2020. I was awestruck by this beautiful image of the sun setting on the massive structure. 

Fearless_Moderator

Wow @Jackie, thanks for sharing this.  An amazing and totally needed app. The closest we have in Ontario is the UHN portal for patients at the University Health Network hospitals in Toronto....PMH, Mount Sinai, Toronto General, Western and I think Sunnybrook. It allows for real time access to all your reports; lab, surgical, doctors' notes etc along with your appointment calendar...and they have just added access to lab reports from any hospital in Ontario.  For me, who originally was treated at PMH so have access, I can now view my lab reports from Kingston General. Unfortunately that's all.  Your system sounds superior.  Too bad there's no standardization or consistency between provinces, then again, in Ontario there doesn't seem to be any of that across regions.  Think of the ease it would give us as we need to be treated in more than one location...let alone the economies of scale that would allow all those saved dollars to go to the important things like research, and technical equipment and front line staff. Oh well.....I can dream. 
PS: My son has been living in Alberta the past 10 years....Ft. Mac, Brooks and now Edmonton and I've said his dad and I can't relocate to be closer to him because I'm so tied to the excellent care I get here in Ontario.  Hmmmmmm.....I'm feeling inclined to reconsider, especially given his next move is likely to be Calgary.   

Jackie

@Fearless The health care system here in Alberta has serious issues just like the one in Ontario. On my many visits to Calgary’s Tom Baker Centre, I was alarmed by the obviously overcrowded quarters. When it opened its doors in the 1980s, the Tom Baker Cancer Centre was spacious and featured state-of-the-art design. Flash forward thirty or forty years and the aging centre is crowded and serving a volume of patients that is well beyond the capacity that it was built for. 

After my first couple of appointments, I found it impossible not to notice how filled to capacity the building is. I was subjected to the overflowing parking lot, the busy chemotherapy beds and the often packed waiting areas. Finally, in the fall of 2017, under Rachel Notley's government,  ground was officially broken for the new Calgary Cancer Centre. 

Bluebird

@Jackie...it will be so good when the new cancer centre in Calgary is open...hopefully for you, you wont have to use it...maybe just to sneak a peek 😊

Bluebird

@Jackie,  here in edmonton, I know when I was in treatment they had started having Saturday shifts in the treatment rooms and were moving to sundays as well..I dont know if that happened yet or not...I know that our population has increased but it's really awful to see the increase in the number of new cancer patients.  I hope they can use some of that technology and find us a cure...

maggiemae

Hi all, Saskatoon only recently started an initiative to allow patients to track their health records.  Unfortunately, it seems to still be a work in progress as it appears one has to enter one's own information re: appointment dates, etc.  I couldn't find any lab results or physician notes on the system either.  Perhaps I'm just not familiar enough yet with it.    Hopefully it will improve over time.  @Jackie, @Fearless and @Bluebird, it sounds like perhaps your systems are more advanced than those here. On the topic of provincial differences, wouldn't it be nice if cancer care was a federal purview?  Having received treatment in both SK and AB, I can honestly say that my experiences in AB were superior to those here in Saskatoon in terms of patient engagement, continuity of care, communication and staff to patient ratio.  I was impressed and very pleased with the care I received there, but also very grateful to have been able to access care from some excellent health care providers close to home.  Navigating different systems can be confusing, but at least we all have going for us that we live in Canada, where we have a chance of beating this disease without worrying about whether or not medical debt will land us on the street, further complicating an already difficult situation.

Bluebird

Hi @maggiemae.  You are so right..its hard enough getting the cancer diagnosis and wondering if you you are eligible for treatment let alone having to pay for it...our systems might not be perfect but it is ours..and I'm grateful..