The issue

The Martini-Klinik at the Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf, internationally recognized as a specialist center for prostate cancer treatment, uses QuestManager from Lighthouse Software to collect patient-reported outcomes (PROMs). This digital solution systematically and automatically records treatment outcomes, recovery and patient satisfaction, with the aim of further improving the quality of care and administrative processes.

The clinic has been collecting outcome data since 1992 to optimize patient care both therapeutically and process-wise. With QuestManager, this process is fully digitized and standardized. Patients receive questionnaires tailored to the ICHOM standards for prostate cancer at set intervals. These can easily be completed at home or on site via smartphone, tablet or PC. More complex questionnaires are reviewed with a healthcare provider in the clinic.

"At the Martini-Klinik, we achieve excellent clinical results. With the integration of QuestManager, we expect not only more efficient processes, but also fewer obstacles in measuring the outcome for our patients," explains Detlef Loppow, director of the Martini-Klinik in Hamburg. "The results of the patient questionnaires make an important contribution to further optimizing the quality of treatment," Loppow continued.

To record long-term outcomes, patients receive questionnaires at set intervals after treatment according to the ICHOM standards for localized prostate cancer. Patients can then easily answer these questionnaires at home or on site using a smartphone, tablet or PC. Some, more complex questionnaires, are completed with a healthcare provider in the clinic.

EHR integration and data visualization.

QuestManager is integrated with the Martini Klinik's electronic patient record (EPD). As a result, patient information from the EHR is automatically used to send out and process questionnaires. This ensures that caregivers do not have to perform manual operations to create patients in QuestManager. The results of completed questionnaires are automatically fed back into the EHR and are immediately available to the caregiver for evaluation. A clear dashboard gives the treatment team insight into where treatments are going well and where adjustments are needed. These outcomes are also used in the consultation room with the patient for shared decision making.

As Mark Mol, Customer Success Manager at Lighthouse Software, explains, "QuestManager enables the Martini-Klinik to monitor patients undergoing long-term treatment over a longer period of time in an automated way. The system is set up so that specific measurement trajectories can be established by the Martini-Klinik, which can extend over several years - in some cases even decades. Within these trajectories, QuestManager automatically requests relevant information from the patient at fixed, predefined times.

Thanks to this automation, healthcare providers are significantly relieved of administrative work. Instead, they can fully focus their attention on the substantive results and medical implications of the information provided by patients. The data collected is analyzed by QuestManager and translated into clear and structured reports. These analyses are presented in a clear dashboard, giving healthcare professionals quick insight into trends, developments and individual patient outcomes. In this way, QuestManager supports both the efficiency of care processes and the quality of long-term patient care."