CaReScreen: A clinical decision support system for cancer rehabilitation

The core of this ecosystem is CareScreen, a digital and evidence-based clinical decision tool that will be developed in this project. CareScreen’s aim is to guide decision-making according to best practice guidelines and facilitate referral and triage to the most efficient rehabilitation level in a stepped care approach ranging from complex inpatient rehabilitation to self-directed rehabilitation. Cancer and its treatment frequently result in physical, psychological, and cognitive challenges that affect daily functioning and quality of life, while a majority of cancer survivors have impairments that go undetected.

Studies show low referral rates to rehabilitation, and there is a lack of screening and efficient triage tools to identify patients at the highest risk of functional decline and early functional impairments. CaReScreen will be developed for primary and specialist healthcare sector use, nationally and internationally, utilizing integrated needs assessment through validated questionnaires and risk estimates of adverse outcomes based on a statistical analysis of data from national registries. CaReScreen will include a module to screen for patients suitable for web-based cancer rehabilitation to deliver interventions regardless of social, geographical or health inequalities. To facilitate implementation and significant expansion for involved companies, the project will focus on scientifically based development and evaluation processes including transparent validation and feasibility studies. The project will generate new knowledge about methods, tools, benefits and barriers within user requirements, design, development, new service model and workflow, which will be essential in successfully implementing CaReScreen into health care services.