A Victorian-first program, aimed at improving the outcomes for colorectal cancer patients through Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs)

Colorectal cancer patients often experience high symptom, functional and emotional burdens. Furthermore, these outcomes can persist even after eradication of the tumour.

It is critical that patients with colorectal cancer receive the best possible symptomatic, functional and psychological support throughout their treatment and into survivorship. Currently, patients undergoing colorectal cancer treatment are not specifically asked about their symptom and functional outcomes, wellbeing and their health-related quality of life. As a result, there is a need to provide survivorship care that is tailored to individual circumstances to improve patient and health system outcomes.

The Cabrini Monash University Department of Surgery, led by Professor Paul McMurrick, recently launched a Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) program for colorectal cancer patients. PROMs are questionnaires that help patients to report on outcomes relating to their health. They are completed without interpretation by a clinician, allowing patients to openly voice their health-related concerns. The new program allows for the electronic capture of PROMs through a cloud-based platform that is aimed at understanding both the health-related impact of colorectal cancer treatment on quality of life and symptom and functional outcomes, as well as supporting clinical teams to deliver more personalised, effective care.

Project Coordinator, Dr Christine Georges (pictured) is leading the rollout of this important program, using the colorectal cancer standard set outlined by the International Consortium of Health Outcomes Measurement (ICHOM), that incorporates the health domains that matter most to patients.

“This Victorian-first program will allow colorectal cancer patients to report their health-related outcomes on their own mobile devices or computers. Allowing patients to report this information translates into improved symptom monitoring and enhanced patient-clinician communication, allowing for more well-informed clinical decisions to be made,” said Dr Georges.

Individual and population PROMs data is fed back to a centralised portal, which clinical teams can access in real-time to monitor the progress of patients and understand their unique health profile, including health-related quality of life and symptom and functional outcomes.

“By streamlining the collection and analysis of these patient-centric outcomes, this program aims to reduce the administrative burden associated with managing PROMs data, improve patient care by enhancing patient-clinician communication, improve clinical decision making and symptom monitoring and, ultimately, improve survival for colorectal cancer patients,” said Dr Georges.

The team wish to acknowledge funding from Collie Foundation, Margaret Walkom Trust and Let’s Beat Bowel Cancer, a not-forprofit Cabrini initiative.