PMD10 The Development of a Patient Outcomes Software for Urologists: CaPSURE POS™

Many urologists have limited resources to track and analyze the clinical and health-related quality of life outcomes of prostate cancer patients. We developed software that compiles clinical and quality of life data and provides benchmarking capabilities against a national database of prostate cancer patients (CaPSURE™). METHODS: We randomly surveyed 50 urologists with a minimum of 5 years in practice, access to a computer in their office, and under the age of 65. To determine which features of a software program would be most interesting to them, urologists rank ordered eight areas of clinical practice: demographics, clinical staging, imaging, treatment, symptoms, medications, quality of life, and patient satisfaction. A software prototype (CaPSURE POS™) was designed based on survey results and beta-tested with urologists. Physicians enter data on prostate cancer patients prospectively at the time of office visits. Patients record responses on a quality-of-life instrument. Individual and group practice data can be tabulated and benchmarked against the national CaPSURE™ database. RESULTS: 80% of urologists stated they would likely use the patient outcomes software in their practice. The software features described as most useful included: clinical staging, imaging, treatment, and quality of life. Major software components include: PSA graphing, the Partin Nomogram, treatment patterns by demographics/disease stage, survival rates, resource use, and quality of life measurements. CONCLUSIONS:The ability of CaPSURE POS™ to analyze treatment and quality of life outcomes may be of significant value for urologists in a competitive health care environment and to improve outcomes for patients with prostate cancer.