Maastro and ConsultAssistent: Learning from Every Patient with PROMs

Maastro , an independent radiation therapy institute, is committed to providing high-quality care, research, and education to give cancer patients a better outlook on a fulfilling life. This means offering the best possible chance of a cure with as few side effects as possible. To achieve this, the effective application of the latest scientific and technological advancements is of great importance to Maastro .

"By asking patients, usually up to years after radiotherapy, how they are doing, we obtain an ever better picture of (late) side effects of treatment. With ConsultAssistent, we understand each other and learn from each patient."

Knowing what is really going on

Maastro This month, the organization began using ConsultAssistent to distribute PROM questionnaires for 5 of the 12 tumor types (gynecology, breast, lung, neurology, and lymphomas).

Why are PROMs important to Maastro? Project Manager Iverna Nijsten: “Maastro believes it’s important to understand how patients experience side effects. By asking patients themselves, Maastro gets a better picture of how they feel—and what matters to them. This allows healthcare providers to take these factors into account as best as possible.”

The insights gained from the smart questionnaire modules—which ask only the questions that are truly necessary—are immediately put to use prior to the start of radiation therapy. They are also used to monitor the patient over several years. If a patient reports experiencing significant discomfort, this information is forwarded to the treating physician at Maastro. The physician can then contact the patient as needed to discuss the symptoms. The data collected from groups of patients is available to Maastro to help improve care for all patients.

See and Understand PROMs at a Glance

Iverna: “For Maastro , using ConsultAssistent means saying goodbye to paper questionnaires, which involved a lot of work and time. With ConsultAssistent, we’ve been able to fully digitize this labor-intensive process.  For example, every returned questionnaire used to have to be manually recorded and screened for high scores. Now, ConsultAssistent generates a report highlighting the most important points of concern and providing graphs showing trends over time. This gives us the time and insights we need to respond more quickly to the patient when necessary.”

Also for patients

"There is also now the opportunity for patients to look back at the course of their health after treatment and how they rate life over time. If, like many patients, you participate in completing the PROMs for several years, it's very nice to see the results of that as well."

Available to all

“Of course, we want to ensure that all patients and doctors benefit as much as possible from these insights and the ease of use. Following this initial launch covering the first five tumor areas, our plan is to roll out ConsultAssistent for all 12 of our tumor types by the end of this year.”

Want to know more?

Would you like to experience, just like Maastro , what PROMs with ConsultAssistent can do for you and your patients? Contact us today.