Polaris Oncology Distress Management
Identify and address psychosocial distress in cancer patients
Polaris Oncology is a Web-based system that can help your organization meet the new Commission on Cancer Distress Management standards efficiently and cost-effectively. The system screens for psychosocial distress and provides to the patient detailed, tailored information, including individualized lists of referrals and other resources in areas of identified need.
Developed with funding from the National Institute for Mental Health, the system is in line with the distress management guidelines from the National Comprehensive Cancer Network and was selected by the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer for inclusion in their Best Practices Repository for cancer care.
Polaris Oncology Highlights
✔ Assessing Psychosocial Distress- Screens for overall psychosocial distress, behavioral health issues and other common problems faced by cancer patients: assessment includes depression, anxiety, other mental health symptoms, risky drinking/substance use and smoking; also assesses cancer-related physical symptoms/side effects, and optionally includes the entire NCCN problem checklist.
✔ Individualized Patient Feedback Report- Tailored to the patient, it provides real-time information on mental health, social support, management of side-effects and adherence to oral medications; psychosocial resources; a mental health referral list; and education on tobacco and alcohol use. View a sample report.
✔ The Care Team Report- In one page, it summarizes global functioning and lists percentile ranks based on cancer-patient norms for behavioral health status, depression and anxiety scales; it gives the care team everything they need to speak with the patient about the recommendations in the longer patient report. View a sample report.
✔ Optional Automated Referral- Matches patients to treatment providers or support groups based on their psychosocial distress needs, insurance status and location.
✔ EHR Compatible- Polaris Oncology can be integrated with virtually any EHR system through the industry-standard HL7 interface; supports two-way communication with EHRs.
✔ Secure Data Management, HIPAA Compliant- Polaris has administered more than 150,000 patient assessments without a security breach.
✔ Scientifically-Sound- Reliability and validity have been established (tested and accepted) for all scales, as required to receive funding from the National Institutes of Health.
✔ High Patient Satisfaction- Increased patient retention and adherence to treatment; positive impact on patient quality of life and overall outcomes; 95 percent are able to complete the online assessment without assistance.
✔ Provider Acceptance- Oncology providers report strong satisfaction with the clinical utility of the system, including stating that the reports summarized clinically relevant information that had not been assessed during the medical assessment in more than half of the patients.
✔ Ease of Use- Polaris Oncology reduces the need for additional staff time to implement distress management by supporting the systematic assessment of the psychosocial issues with which cancer patients are grappling; it can be seamlessly integrated into the clinical workflow.
Contact us at moreinfo@polarishealth.com or call 215-359-3878 to learn more about the benefits you will see by using Polaris's oncology solution.
We are committed to helping you improve the well-being and quality of life of your oncology patients.
