University Hospital Galway has become the first hospital in the country to rollout out a pioneering Cancer Information System, which will standardise sharing of patient information.
The National Cancer Information System (NCIS) provides a single national computerised system that records and stores information about a patient’s cancer case, diagnosis and treatment.
The goal of this project is to create a single system to support the care of oncology and haemato-oncology patients including the provision of Systemic Anti-Cancer Therapy or Chemotherapy across Ireland.
Access to a patient’s longitudinal cancer record will be available through the NCIS. This will ensure that all relevant healthcare providers will have access to the patients’ data in an appropriate and timely manner.
Chris Kane, General Manager, Galway University Hospitals said, “The implementation of NCIS marks an important milestone for UHG.”
“NCIS will improve the quality and safety of patient care for people with cancer and I am very glad to see this project come to fruition.”
Peter Kidd, project manager of the NCIS said, “The patient’s journey is central to the design of the new system, it’s about ensuring the right medication, the right patient, the right dose, the right place and the right time.”
“We are the first hospital in the country to host and share Multi-Disciplinary Meetings on NCIS. This means that specialists from different areas of medicine and different geographical regions are coming together, accessing the same information in real-time and making informed treatment plans for patients.”
“It is a safer and faster way of ensuring that doctors, nurses, pharmacists and allied health professionals have access to the right information to provide the best care.”
UHG also hosted the pilot project for this initiative, which started in 2018 with the appointment of project manager/pharmacy and nurse training resources.
