ASCO recently announced that it has initiated development of the full CancerLinQ™ system, a groundbreaking health information technology (HIT) initiative to achieve higher-quality, higher-value cancer care with better outcomes for patients. The announcement was made at a White House Office of Science and Technology Policy event at The Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, DC.
The multiphase development process will encompass a series of successively more powerful quality improvement tools for physicians, with the first components becoming available by early 2015. ASCO’s move into the full build follows the successful completion of the CancerLinQ™ prototype, which demonstrated the feasibility of a HIT-based learning health system .
“ASCO’s prototype left no doubt that a learning health system in cancer care is possible,” said ASCO President, Clifford A. Hudis, MD, FACP. “With development of the full system now underway, we believe we can enhance our contributions to better, smarter patient care within the next 18 months. By the time CancerLinQ™ is complete, we expect it will revolutionize cancer care and serve as a model for other areas of medicine.”
The first components of CancerLinQ™ will center on providing next-generation quality measurement that builds on ASCO’s Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI®). Future components will encompass more powerful quality improvement tools, real-time clinical decision support, and analysis of thousands of patient experiences to create a continuous cycle of learning. ASCO is currently defining the functional requirements for the full system and will be issuing a request for proposals in early 2014.
ASCO also continues to seek financial support for CancerLinQ™ through the Conquer Cancer Foundation. To date, the Foundation has raised $7.8 million in major commitments, including generous contributions from Amgen; Chan Soon-Shiong Family Foundation; Genentech BioOncology™; Helsinn Therapeutics (US), Inc; Lilly; Novartis Oncology; Susan G. Komen®; and numerous individual supporters including: Raj Mantena, RPh, Thomas G. Roberts, Jr, MD, and Susan M. DaSilva, NP. ■
