The specialists at the Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Hospital in Amsterdam had been dealing with a problem for some time. Information about treatments and drug courses was only available through a cumbersome information system that can only be accessed from desktop computers. That had to be different. And fortunately that could be done differently.
The solution soon emerged: information about treatments and medicines had to be included in an app.
We chose an app over a mobile site for the initial rollout. An app has a more permanent character on the user's smartphone and can therefore be accessed more quickly than a mobile website. Since the app is only intended for doctors, matters such as online findability or communication are not so important (now). Using an app is therefore the most logical choice.
Bring complex information together in a clear manner
Various tumor working groups are active within the AVL. These are groups of doctors who deal with one specific tumor type. Various treatments are available for each tumor type. The treatments available depend on the stage the patient is in. Each stage also contains different ways to make a diagnosis.
We opted for a simple setup where the user immediately sees an overview of all available tumor types when opening the app. From there the user clicks through and sees the different stages. Within those stages, the user is presented with a list of available treatments.
The overview of the tumor groups The tumor group with associated stages and additional information A stage of a tumor group showing the available treatments
Treatment lines and dose adjustment table
Each treatment has multiple treatment lines. Some have two or three lines, others as many as twenty. Every treatment line can be found in the app. Some treatments also include a course of medication. A drug course has different dose adjustments, depending on the patient's condition or, for example, blood values. These dose adjustments must also be made transparent.
That is why we have also created a dose adjustment table in the app for all drug courses. This shows doctors under what conditions they need to adjust the dose of the medicines. The dose adjustments are directly accessible from the treatments.
Overview of 3 treatment lines Overview of 2 treatment lines with click through to dose adjustment table Dose adjustment table for drug regimen
Management of the app, editing and rollout to other hospitals
A so-called editorial board has been appointed within the AVL that manages the content in the app, with the help of Van Ons. The tumor working groups provide information, the editorial board ensures that it is included in the app and therefore remains up to date.
The content in the app is managed with WordPress. The content enters the app using the WordPress API. This makes managing the app very easy, as well as monthly maintenance!
The AVL Onco App started as a pilot and can now only be used by AVL doctors. The app offers users everywhere the opportunity to leave feedback on the content and the app. We incorporate these into new releases of the app to make it better and even more future-proof.
If successful, the app will also be rolled out to other hospitals, so that doctors there can easily have all the complex information in their pocket.