A real time online assessment system with modelized architecture on clinical infometrics for patient reported outcomes of prostate cancer

Objective: The aim of this study was to establish a real time online health and decision support system with the novel information technology integrating modelized architecture and Web services for clinical infometrics on patient reported outcome (PRO) and quality of life (QOL) for prostate cancer patients.

Methods: The patient-oriented interface was practiced with object relation mapping (ORM) and clinical data warehouse to collaborate QOL measurement and medical informatics through internet by incorporating a variety of hospital information systems. The conceptual infrastructure was designed by five primary layers to organize the data flow of online assessment and clinical data for real-time decision support.

Results: A preliminary knowledge bank was formed by feedback of expert opinions to provide online guidance for decision references. Observation and assessment of prostate cancer patients' QOL and clinical markers were immediately tracked with automatic computation algorithm to improve health care quality in the treatment cycle.

Conclusions: The established Web-based system can help clinicians concurrently collect and analyze real-time PROs and QOL for enhancing communication with patients and improving the quality of care.