Patient engagement has become the sort of kitchen sink term used to describe everything from communication between patients and their care teams to how individuals manage their disease or interact with an app or medical device. But a critical component of a breast cancer monitoring pilot by Samsung Electronics and the American Cancer Society has nothing to do with cancer and everything to do with how patients think of the Galaxy tablet that will provide content about their condition.
In a discussion led by Samsung Electronics and American Cancer Society, Samsung Chief Medical Officer Dr. David Rhew shared some details about the pilot. He explained that they want to give users reasons to access the tablets used in the pilot beyond learning about and managing their treatment and recovery from breast cancer surgery.
“We use things like Angry Birds because we wanted people to latch onto the tablet for reasons beyond their cancer treatment.”
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Chuck Westbrook, senior vice president for cancer control programs and services with American Cancer Society, explained that a nurse navigator will sit with patients and help them onboard websites and apps that tap into their personal interests such as gardening or geneology so they don’t just associate the tablet with their cancer.
The initial pilot with Athens Medical Center’s Breast Health Center will have 20 participants with the plan to add more on a rolling basis over a one year period. But the question of who will be in the pilot is still being worked out.
It’s a thoughtful approach and it could offer some compelling insights that not only advance the engagement conversation but change the comfort level of individuals with technology beyond email and text messaging. That could spur them to make more use of the cancer treatment content and improve communication with their medical team.
Photo: Flickr user Janitors
