{"228181":{"#nid":"228181","#data":{"type":"news","title":"National Pilot Project Uses Information to Improve Cancer Treatment","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAn experimental health information exchange being tested in the north Georgia city of Rome is helping Koren Sinnock keep her travel plans. A breast cancer patient, Sinnock had been reluctant to travel very far from her doctors until the new program promised to provide access to her medical records from anywhere she might happen to be \u2013 including the beach.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt gives me a sense of freedom that I can actually leave town and know that I can have medical information related to my cancer with me,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m excited to be part of creating something that other people across the country might use.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProviding easy access to medical histories and treatment records is just one aspect of MyJourney Compass, a pilot project designed to help patients navigate the complex cancer treatment process and become more involved their health care decisions. Operated through the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/dch.georgia.gov\/\u0022\u003EGeorgia Department of Community Health\u003C\/a\u003E, the project resulted from collaboration that includes two hospitals, a doctor\u2019s group and cancer support organizations in Rome. The overall project, funded by the federal \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.healthit.gov\/newsroom\/about-onc\u0022\u003EOffice of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC)\u003C\/a\u003E, is managed by health information specialists at the Georgia Institute of Technology.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis really has the potential for making people\u2019s lives better through education and knowledge, which empowers people,\u201d said Phil Lamson, a health care consultant with Georgia Tech\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/innovate.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EEnterprise Innovation Institute\u003C\/a\u003E. \u201cUsing MyJourney Compass, patients can have more direct communication with their providers on the common symptoms that often accompany this disease.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMyJourney Compass represents the merger of coordinated community cancer care with technology. Rome already had a coordinated, integrated and centralized cancer care system that helps patients navigate the often confusing network of doctors and treatment options. The program\u2019s hardware technology \u2013 inexpensive Nexus 7 tablet computers connected to a secure network \u2013 helps patients communicate with health care providers, access their health information and obtain credible information on the Internet.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA symptom tracker application developed at Georgia Tech and loaded on each tablet allows patients to provide frequent feedback to health care providers when necessary. For a patient prescribed a new pain medication, for example, the app may ask for updates several times a day to help the doctor judge whether the drug is doing what\u2019s needed.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cDoctors know what they need to track, and when the patients report in periodically, there can be an intervention early if there is some deviation from what\u2019s expected,\u201d Lamson explained. \u201cIf more frequent communication between scheduled appointments prevents a trip to the emergency room or admission to the hospital, that\u2019s a big benefit for everybody.\u201d\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe project is funded by a federal challenge grant designed to encourage new health information technology applications. The pilot project launched officially on August 12.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe project is funded by a $1.7 million grant from ONC through the Department of Community Health (DCH),\u201d noted Kelly Gonzalez, health information technology coordinator for DCH. \u201cIt is one of ten challenge grants awarded by ONC to projects across the country, and is one of only two focusing on health care consumers.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERome was chosen for the national pilot project because the community had already come together to fight cancer. Collaboration among the community\u2019s health care providers made it easier to launch the study.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cEveryone is amazed at the level of cooperation in our community,\u201d said Gena Agnew, president of the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.nwgacancer.org\/\u0022\u003ENorthwest Georgia Regional Cancer Coalition\u003C\/a\u003E (NWGRCC). \u201cHere we have a private physician\u2019s clinic with a standalone cancer center, a private and public hospital, a group of patient navigators and the NWGRCC. The cooperation is so well known that we were the first community considered for participation in this.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECollaborators in Rome include Floyd Medical Center, the Redmond Regional Medical Center, the Harbin Clinic, Cancer Navigators and the NWGRCC. At the state level, the project involves the Georgia Department of Community Health and Georgia Tech. Within Georgia Tech, the project includes specialists from the Enterprise Innovation Institute, Georgia Tech Research Institute, College of Computing, and Institute for People and Technology.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMyJourney Compass uses established technology to provide electronic access to patient records, which are housed in Microsoft\u2019s secure online HealthVault service. Secure email is provided through GeorgiaDirect, a service provided as part of the Georgia Health Information Network operated by DCH. The symptom tracker app was developed by Georgia Tech\u2019s Interoperability and Integration Innovation Lab (I3L).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESo far, 25 patients have signed up to use the system, and Lamson hopes as many as 100 breast cancer patients will be using the information exchange once the program is in full operation. Georgia Tech will be evaluating the patient outcomes and studying patient satisfaction.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESinnock is already pleased with the 12-ounce tablet computer, which replaces a pile of printed materials she was given along with her diagnosis. \u201cThey handed me stacks of papers, handouts and books,\u201d she confessed. \u201cI just stuck it all in the closet and didn\u2019t even look at it because that giant pile of information was just too overwhelming.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe team implementing MyJourney Compass expects that the pilot project will demonstrate new ways of leveraging technology in health care and be applicable to treatment of other types of disease, including chronic health problems, hypertension and diabetes.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe MyJourney Compass project is empowering patients to become actively engaged in their care, an important requirement of our consumer-focused State HIE Challenge Grants,\u201d said Kory Mertz, challenge grant program manager at ONC in Washington, D.C. \u201cThe work in Rome will serve as a model to other patients, providers and communities across the country on leveraging health information technology to engage patients in their care.\u201d\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E177 North Avenue\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAtlanta, Georgia\u0026nbsp; 30332-0181\u0026nbsp; USA\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contact\u003C\/strong\u003E: John Toon (404-894-6986)(\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter\u003C\/strong\u003E: John Toon\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAn experimental health information exchange being tested in the north Georgia city of Rome is helping breast cancer patients access their health information and stay in touch with their doctors. The program, MyJourney Compass, is designed to help patients become more involved their health care decisions.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"An experimental health information exchange is helping breast cancer patients access their health information."}],"uid":"27303","created_gmt":"2013-08-10 16:31:51","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:14:42","author":"John Toon","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2013-08-12T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2013-08-12T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"228171":{"id":"228171","type":"image","title":"MyJourney Compass Tablet Computer","body":null,"created":"1449243582","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:39:42","changed":"1475894901","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:48:21","alt":"MyJourney Compass Tablet Computer","file":{"fid":"197467","name":"tablet.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tablet_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tablet_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1094726,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/tablet_0.jpg?itok=yaEJEdZS"}},"228151":{"id":"228151","type":"image","title":"Koren_Sinnock","body":null,"created":"1449243582","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:39:42","changed":"1475894901","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:48:21","alt":"Koren_Sinnock","file":{"fid":"197465","name":"koren_sinnock.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/koren_sinnock_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/koren_sinnock_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1268791,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/koren_sinnock_0.jpg?itok=xyU16i7S"}},"228161":{"id":"228161","type":"image","title":"Georgia Tech and DCH","body":null,"created":"1449243582","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:39:42","changed":"1475894901","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:48:21","alt":"Georgia Tech and DCH","file":{"fid":"197466","name":"lamson-dch.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/lamson-dch_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/lamson-dch_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2129793,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/lamson-dch_0.jpg?itok=l0v1Z7ci"}}},"media_ids":["228171","228151","228161"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"140","name":"Cancer Research"},{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"},{"id":"143","name":"Digital Media and Entertainment"}],"keywords":[{"id":"385","name":"cancer"},{"id":"3671","name":"Enterprise Innovation Institute"},{"id":"41981","name":"health information"},{"id":"71261","name":"I3L"},{"id":"6587","name":"medical records"},{"id":"71231","name":"MyJourney Compass"},{"id":"71251","name":"Phil Lamson"},{"id":"365","name":"Research"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"},{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJohn Toon\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearch News\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E(404) 894-6986\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jtoon@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}