The National Cancer Centre Singapore, a specialty centre under SingHealth, has started implementing an oncology EMR solution by Altera Digital Health.

Called Sunrise Oncology, the solution provides a range of clinician tools, including decision support at the point of clinical prescribing and treatment regimens with real-time analysis of efficacy, toxicities, and outcomes. 

THE LARGER TREND

The implementation of Sunrise Oncology is part of SingHealth's expanded e-chemotherapy project, which intends to create a "paperless electronic oncology workflow" by consolidating the workflow for medical oncology across multiple SingHealth institutions. 

Rolled out in phases, Sunrise Oncology will support workflows for both solid tumours and blood cancers across oncology and haematology services and provide seamless integration with other Sunrise modules.

About a year ago, SingHealth extended its previous agreement in 2017 with Altera to continue using its suite of healthcare solutions across its network until 2029. SingHealth has been a user of the Sunrise Clinical Manager System since 1998.

The oncology EMR implementation also comes as NCCS opened its new building early this year with increased capacity and expanded facilities for cancer care, research, rehabilitation and education.

ON THE RECORD

"The implementation of Sunrise Oncology across SingHealth institutions provides a cluster-wide integrated oncology solution, which enables clinicians to access patient data more efficiently, improves patient safety and ensures seamless continuity of care for the patient," said Assoc. Prof. Lita Chew, associate professor and Group Director for Allied Health at SingHealth and the head of the Pharmacy Department at NCCS. 

As SingHealth moves to a paperless electronic oncology workflow, this also standardises and enhances the integration with the patients' EMR.

"For example, a patient may receive their diagnosis and undergo their initial treatment at NCCS (or even as an inpatient at SGH) but subsequently choose to receive their remaining cancer treatment in a satellite centre closer to where they live for greater convenience. With Sunrise Oncology, doctors, nurses, and pharmacists from across SingHealth institutions will have visibility of key patient information, including their prior treatment and any important notes (such as any adverse drug reactions)," SingHealth explained.

"The flexibility of the Sunrise solution has enabled SingHealth to develop and build on the platform to deploy customised tools alongside a wide range of oncology protocol regimes. This ensures high-quality and standardised care, where patients can seamlessly move from inpatient care to outpatient care and vice versa," Todd Haebich, EVP, APAC, Altera, also commented.