IntrinsiQ Sharpens Cancer Treatment AnalysisIntrinsiQ Sharpens Cancer Treatment Analysis

Analysis tools are helping cancer centers dig into data about patient treatments to improve care and business decisions.

Harrison Bremerton Oncology (formerly Olympic Hematology & Oncology Associates) is using IntelliDose, a chemotherapy management system from vendor IntrinsiQ to track and analyze its cancer patient treatments as well as to help the Washington state regional cancer clinic compare its therapies with trends at other oncology centers nationwide.

Treatment decisions are made by Harrison Bremerton doctors based on the needs of patients, said Sara Green, and R.N and director of Harrison Bremerton Oncology. The IntelliDose system is used to help manage treatment-related processes and provide key analysis for improved decision making and patient care, she explained.

IntrinsiQ's IntelliDose is a computerized physician order entry and "partial" e-health record system to track patients' cancer treatments, Green said. The IntelliDose software also integrates with full function e-medical record systems from other vendors, such as GE Centricity -- which is being rolled out by Harrison Hospital, which recently acquired the out-patient cancer treatment center, she said.

IntelliDose automates the complex process of calculating, ordering, and administrating chemotherapy. The software pulls data from clinical systems to prescribe and administer chemotherapy, and then delivers treatment data back to patients' EMRs.

IntrinsiQ also captures and stores in a database, oncology treatment data from its customers' IntelliDose systems. That data, representing about 20,000 patients who have been treated by approximately 600 oncologists, allow IntelliDose customers to analyze how their own treatments compare with trends by other cancer centers across the country.

Furthermore, IntrinsiQ’s Web site provides a portal for each client, where authorized users can log in and obtain reports presented as Excel spreadsheets. Oncologists may view only the patient-specific data from their own practice; comparative practice data does not contain personal patient information, said an IntrinsiQ spokeswoman.

For instance, recent analysis by Green using IntrinsiQ's software found that Harrison Bremerton treats colon cancer patients with a certain chemotherapy drug ingested orally, versus most other oncologists across the country treating colon cancer patients with that same drug via intravenous infusion.

Green was able to uncover later that the reason Harrison Bremerton was using oral drug versus most other facilities using infusion was because Harrison Bremerton's treatment rooms were so full. The oral drugs provided time efficiency in treatments.

Using the software, Green and team can also compare the volume of specific cancers treated at Harrison Bremerton facilities versus other oncology centers nationwide, as well as identify spikes or declines in the kinds of cancers, such as breast malignancies, being treated locally.

The tools can also help Harrison Bremerton track staff productivity as data is entered into the system during patient treatments. "I can see every keystroke," Green said, such as start time of drugs, if a drug was held for some reason, and other details. This also simplifies patient and treatment record-keeping related to clinical trials that Harrison Bremerton often participates in, she said.

Green was recently able to use the system to analyze whether anti-nausea drugs that are often administered with chemo are working effectively for patients.

For instance, specific anti-nausea drugs are automatically included in the Harrison Bremerton chemo regimen of patients with various cancers. However, the software can be used to analyze whether patients undergoing subsequent chemo treatments were administered a stronger anti-nausea drug during the next procedure. If so, that could indicate that the original anti-nausea drug is ineffective with that particular chemo treatment and the regimen should be changed so that patients get a different anti-nausea drug with the first round of their chemo.

The analysis tools not only help make better informed treatment decisions to boost patient care, but also to improve the business.

For instance, the software helps Harrison Bremerton with procurement of drugs based on contracted discounts. For instance, the software allows Green to track the volumes of specific drugs being used at the facility so that Harrison Bremerton can better negotiate discounts on supplier contracts, Green said.