TY - JOUR
T1 - Evaluation of the use of decision-support software in carcino-embryonic antigen (CEA)-based follow-up of patients with colorectal cancer
AU - Verberne, Charlotte J.
AU - Nijboer, Cornelis H.
AU - De Bock, Geertruida H.
AU - Grossmann, Irene
AU - Wiggers, Theo
AU - Havenga, Klaas
PY - 2012
Y1 - 2012
N2 - Background: The present paper is a first evaluation of the use of "CEAwatch", a clinical support software system for surgeons for the follow-up of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. This system gathers Carcino-Embryonic Antigen (CEA) values and automatically returns a recommendation based on the latest values. Methods. Consecutive patients receiving follow-up care for CRC fulfilling our in- and exclusion criteria were identified to participate in this study. From August 2008, when the software was introduced, patients were asked to undergo the software-supported follow-up. Safety of the follow-up, experiences of working with the software, and technical issues were analyzed. Results: 245 patients were identified. The software-supported group contained 184 patients; the control group contained 61 patients. The software was safe in finding the same amount of recurrent disease with fewer outpatient visits, and revealed few technical problems. Clinicians experienced a decrease in follow-up workload of up to 50% with high adherence to the follow-up scheme. Conclusion: CEAwatch is an efficient software tool helping clinicians working with large numbers of follow-up patients. The number of outpatient visits can safely be reduced, thus significantly decreasing workload for clinicians.
AB - Background: The present paper is a first evaluation of the use of "CEAwatch", a clinical support software system for surgeons for the follow-up of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. This system gathers Carcino-Embryonic Antigen (CEA) values and automatically returns a recommendation based on the latest values. Methods. Consecutive patients receiving follow-up care for CRC fulfilling our in- and exclusion criteria were identified to participate in this study. From August 2008, when the software was introduced, patients were asked to undergo the software-supported follow-up. Safety of the follow-up, experiences of working with the software, and technical issues were analyzed. Results: 245 patients were identified. The software-supported group contained 184 patients; the control group contained 61 patients. The software was safe in finding the same amount of recurrent disease with fewer outpatient visits, and revealed few technical problems. Clinicians experienced a decrease in follow-up workload of up to 50% with high adherence to the follow-up scheme. Conclusion: CEAwatch is an efficient software tool helping clinicians working with large numbers of follow-up patients. The number of outpatient visits can safely be reduced, thus significantly decreasing workload for clinicians.
KW - colorectal cancer
KW - follow-up
KW - workflow automation
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84857681350&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1186/1472-6947-12-14
DO - 10.1186/1472-6947-12-14
M3 - Article
C2 - 22390356
AN - SCOPUS:84857681350
SN - 1472-6947
VL - 12
JO - BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making
JF - BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making
IS - 1
M1 - 14
ER -
