Kristina N. Michael, APRN, WHNP-BC, Senior Clinical Associate, Fred Ashbury, PhD
The rapidly growing and complex knowledge base surrounding cancer care requires a significant investment by providers. Continuing professional education curricula are springing up in greater numbers to help oncologists deal with the challenges of maintaining an effective understanding of cancer care, particularly as it relates to omics-driven treatment and supportive care. The sheer volume of clinical information grows daily, which can have a cumbersome impact on the clinical team, more explicitly the primary oncologist. “Oncology relies heavily on evidence-based medicine scoring systems for cancer risk assessment and disease diagnosis, prognostic staging, treatment, and surveillance monitoring” (Shreve et. al, 2022). Providers aim to provide the most comprehensive, tailored, and evidence-based treatment available. Different modalities of acquiring continuing medical education are prevalent, but time constraints are one of the many limitations which prevent clinicians from maintaining, developing, or increasing their knowledge, skills, and professional performance. So how do providers stay consistent and up to date with the rapid influx of information? A key response to this challenge is the once-remote thought of applying Artificial Intelligence solutions.
In the oncology setting, just to quantify the challenges that providers face, the number of genomics articles published within the past year exceeded 10,000 in peer-reviewed journals. Within the last 18 months, there were 70 novel clinical drugs approved, with many more to come, which we are seeing nearly on a weekly basis.
With this persistent need, VieCure has responded by creating an artificial intelligence-based decision support platform that has an integrated comprehensive clinical library, electronic medical record, and physician and patient engagement mobile applications. Recently, VieCure has deployed its capability to support providers who use its platform to earn continuing professional education credits by accessing the knowledge base.
While simultaneously providing high-quality care through the use of the VieCure platform, providers are obtaining continuing medical education credits. They receive these credits by viewing clinic references, summaries, and videos triggered by the AI engine when making diagnostic, treatment, supportive care, rehabilitation, and survivorship planning decisions.
For example, many of these references are tied to academic or clinical research articles that support the use of targeted therapy per disease site. Community oncology practices are optimal candidates to receive CME delivery through an existing AI-based support platform; these practices are especially busy, thereby creating challenges to free up time to attend CME programs in person or virtually. The delivery of educational content should also be comprehensive for the provider to establish care throughout the patient’s clinical journey. The clinical content available within the VieCure platform, including educational content, has been curated from primary literature sources, as well as evidence- and consensus-based guidelines. In areas where it is limited or no standardization of care, such as survivorship care education (Pariser et. al, 2022), VieCure has developed its knowledge base to ensure the most current published research and guidance can be accessed, to facilitate education and decision support. As part of the routine use of VieCure’s platform, providers can ensure they have access to its knowledge base and simultaneously be able to earn professional education credits, which is an additional benefit VieCure supports in its commitment to excellence.
The knowledge base of oncology is complex and voluminous. VieCure provides its clinicians with adaptive, evidence-based, and quick-reference tools they can use with minimal disruption to patient care or without time restrictions to better serve them, and thereby their patients.
References Pariser, A.C., Brita, J., Harrigan, M., Capozza, S., Khairallah, A., Sanft, T.B. Delivery of Cancer Survivorship Education to Community Healthcare Professionals. Journal of Cancer Educa- tion 2022. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-022-02164-w Shreve, J.T., Khanani, S.A., Haddad, T.C. Artificial Intelligence in Oncology: Current Capabil- ities, Future Opportunities, and Ethical Considerations. American Society of Clinical Oncolo- gy Educational Book 2022, 42, 842-851.
Kristina Michael, APRN, WHNP-BC
Senior Clinical Associate, VieCure
Fredrick D. Ashbury, PhD
Chief Scientific Officer, VieCure Professor (Adj), Department of Oncology University of Calgary Professor (Adj), DLSPH, University of Toronto