Frequently Asked Questions

Stephen J. Forman M.D. - By finding out the needs of our patients and families before therapy begins, we can anticipate potential challenges and build on strengths to come up with solutions to their needs, both practical and spiritual.

Arti Hurria, M.D. - By having this information in real-time, my initial encounter with the patient is more effective and efficient. Often problems are identified by SupportScreen that the patient has not volunteered to the health care team previously.

Christina Eckhart, Patient - I loved this program; it helps to identify patients needs and concerns and puts their mind at ease while going through treatment.

Laura Kruper, M.D. Assistant Professor and Surgeon, General Oncologic Surgery

The SupportScreen is an extremely valuable tool for physicians – it allows us to better tailor our conversations with patients to focus on their individual needs, concerns and questions about therapy and treatment options. The SupportScreen is an ideal tool for any practice setting to provide individualized care for patients.

Robert J. Morgan, Jr. M.D., F.A.C.P. Professor of Medical Oncology

My patients are complex on multiple levels. The automated screening and triage, real-time communication and the provision of tailored educational materials, allows me to be the doctor. The clinic visit is focused and incredibly efficient – no need to fish for potentially sensitive but essential information, it is all there already.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. How long does it take to complete SupportScreen?

A. It takes patients 12-15 minutes for the full 56 items. Items can be easily reduced or increased as needed.

Q. Is it compatible with other patient information systems?

A. SupportScreen was designed as a stand alone web-based software program to be compatible with many existing patient information systems. Currently SupportScreen can pull data from industry standard patient information systems.

Q. What Hardware is being used?

A. SupportScreen is a highly flexible web-based interface that is designed to function efficiently on a wide variety of technology media (laptops, desktops, tablets, etc). Our team is constantly testing new hardware to see what is the most patient-friendly and cost efficient. We are happy to work with you to discuss which hardware may be best suited for your setting.

Q. As a Health Care Professional will SupportScreen create more work for me?

A. Yes, SupportScreen is highly likely to create additional referrals. The referrals, which should now be more tailored to the services that you provide, are automatically sent to the designated health care team members, services and/or resources. The referral thresholds can be easily reset by you to reflect your individual staffing levels.

Also, it is commonly found that many of the problems identified respond to information and education that can be provided automatically as part of SupportScreen through the tailored education sheets. SupportScreen has also been successfully used to document the need for additional staff. This data is highly compelling in establishing the level of acuity for specific populations served. SupportScreen also can efficiently identify the types of interventions and professionals required for any given population.

Q. Do elderly patients have trouble completing SupportScreen?

A. No, data on over 1000 cancer patients 65 and older supports that geriatric patients do not rate ease of use of the touch screen any different than patients younger than 65. In addition, geriatric cancer patients take on average only a minute longer than patients younger than 65 to complete the touch screen.

Q. Do the laptops get stolen?

A. No, that has not been our experience. Although initially there were concerns regarding laptop theft in the “public” areas, none were stolen. In communication with our other colleagues around the world who have used touch-screen technology extensively, none of them reported theft related to the laptops. However, given the individual setting care must always be taken to protect electronic equipment from theft.

Q. How do I clean the laptop to be sure they are sanitized?

A. In our experience we have used sanitary wipes, approved by our infectious disease department, to clean the tablets. Given the tablets you will choose, we recommend that you be guided by the manufacture’s requirements.