case study

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Preemptively managing the side effects of cancer treatment through model-driven clinical decision support

Located in Boston and the surrounding communities, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute brings together world renowned clinicians, innovative researchers and dedicated professionals, allies in the common mission of conquering cancer, HIV/AIDS, and related diseases. Combining extremely talented people with the best technologies in a genuinely positive environment, they provide compassionate and comprehensive care to patients of all ages; they conduct research that advances treatment; they educate tomorrow’s physicians and researchers; they reach out to underserved members of their community; and they work with amazing partners, including other Harvard Medical School-affiliated hospitals.

Cancer care is complex. The treatment landscape is constantly changing, and it will soon become impossible for oncology providers to appropriately manage their patients without decision support. To address this need for a new cancer care delivery model, Dana-Farber launched Dana-Farber Pathways in 2012. This multidisciplinary program brought together a dedicated group of clinicians, informaticists, and analysts with the common goal of developing an electronic roadmap for quality cancer care. To date, Dana-Farber has built a portfolio of over 70 clinical pathways, providing treatment recommendations for almost all solid tumor and hematologic malignancies.

Cancer treatment has side effects. Regardless of their diagnosis, all cancer patients have the potential to experience a wide range of symptoms related to therapy or the progression of their disease. Given that the current approach to symptom management is often fragmented and reactive, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute has launched an innovative initiative to preemptively manage the side effects of cancer therapy by leveraging digital technologies. This includes the development of a portfolio of symptom management pathways by Dana-Farber Pathways. By implementing decision support at point of care, Dana-Farber hopes to: