Supporting patients beyond the finishing line: automating treatment summaries

Supporting Patients beyond the Finishing Line: Automating Treatment Summaries. This project explored using automation to improve the quality and quantity of end-of-treatment summaries (EOTS) for patients at the end of their cancer treatment. It is one of very few automations being used by clinical teams for patient benefit rather than for back office functions. Working with patients and clinicians we have co-created content to enhance personalised communication. Simultaneously we have developed software to automate EOTS creation to minimise additional demands on clinical staff. Early results show improved relevance, faster delivery, and increased EOTS provision across 5 participating NHS Trusts. The presentation will explore how we have moved from identifying an unmet need, securing £300k of funding, through to creating a digital solution involving 6 NHS trusts, 7 hospitals, two cancer alliances, a charity, an automation platform and development team and 25 patient partners. We will describe the challenges of clinician and patient facing automation compared to back office automation and how we have mitigated these.