DITIS: a collaborative system to support home care by a virtual multidisciplinary team

Abstract

DITIS was originally developed to address the difficulties of communication and continuity of care between the home health care multidisciplinary team (PASYKAF) and between the team and the oncologist often over 100km away. DITIS has through its data base and possibility of access via mobile or wire line (computers) offered much more than improved communication. Its flexibility of communication and access to the patient's history and daily record at all times, home, outpatients or in the event of an emergency admission has offered the team an overall assessment and history of each symptom. DITIS has thus offered improved quality of life to the patient, for example by offering the nurse's immediate authorisation to change prescription via mobile devices and the oncologist the possibility of assessment and symptom control without having to see the patient. It has offered the home care service the opportunity to plan future services and lobby for funding by offering audit, statistics, and performance evaluation and with these in place, the possibility for research. DITIS the programme will be presented and demonstrated including the mobile device and a discussion around the evaluation of its use. The difficulties will also be examined with trust being the key to implementation of the system. Trust between the different professionals in the home care team, trust between the oncologist and the team and most importantly trust in the technology, including confidentiality. DITIS supports the creation, management and coordination of virtual healthcare professional teams, for the continuous hometreatment of cancer patients.