In patient-centred medicine, we need more patient empowerment. Our core values at North Estonia Medical Centre demand us to put more emphasis on patient involvement, support and provide more evidence based information. This is why we launched a breast cancer patient journey application in Spring and continue to innovate in the digital area for the good of our patients.
In Spring, North Estonia Medical Centre (NEMC) put out a new patient journey application for breast cancer patients. The material is evidence based digital coordinator supporting and helping the patient from the first symptoms, diagnoses, care and treatment until the end of the monitoring period. The development of the content has been a good example of cooperation between different parties that all aim to support and inform the patient.
In Estonia, about 800 patients annually receive a first diagnosis of breast cancer and about 75% of them are treated at NEMC. Even though the potential number of users is relatively small, it is extremely important to create support systems for the patient that would offer information and guidance irrespective of time and place. The application is part of a series of innovation pilots in Cancer Centre, which aim to give additional support to patients and their loved ones at a very difficult time. The pilot lasts until the end of the year and during that time we collect user feedback to improve the experience. At this time, the application is available only in Estonian language.
This pilot is part of a greater movement towards the creation of digital tools for the patient journey. Last year, we introduced the stroke application and are currently initiating the digital collaboration pilot and support service for patients with cancer.
