A “groundbreaking” digital tool designed to empower individuals living with and beyond cancer has been unveiled.
The “Cancer Survivor Smart Card”, developed by “smartCARE”, an EU-funded project, aims to address “critical challenges” faced by survivors.
These include managing late effects, side effects, complications, co-morbidities, and psychosocial challenges stemming from their treatment.
It was developed through collaboration with leading healthcare professionals, patient advocacy groups, and, most importantly and cancer survivors.
What sets the innovation apart is its survivor-centred approach, it is said.
By incorporating direct input from a diverse group of cancer survivors, the tool is said to be
“uniquely tailored to meet their real-world needs, ensuring relevance and usability.”
The launch of the prototype marks an important step toward “transforming” care experience for cancer survivors across Europe.
The smart card prototype offers an array of thoughtfully designed features and functionalities, prioritised by patients and survivors themselves, to address their most pressing needs.
These include offering patients and survivors secure access to manage and share their medical data with healthcare professionals.
This all-in-one solution empowers users with control over their health information, enabling better communication with healthcare professionals.
Telehealth also enables users to access remote medical advice and consultations, offering convenience and flexibility for managing ongoing health conditions and routine follow-ups.
The card will also provide “seamless” access to a wealth of reliable cancer-related information, ensuring users have the support they need at their fingertips.
The prototype of the card has already undergone thorough testing and validation to ensure it will effectively meet the needs of its users.
The smartCARE project is run by a 41-organisation consortium coordinated by the European Cancer Organisation (ECO).
Prof. Csaba Dégi, ECO President and Co-Chair of the smartCARE Steering Committee, said,
“As a psycho-oncology professional and caregiver, I’ve long been waiting for an app like this.
“SmartCARE gives cancer patients and survivors a precious opportunity for networking and professional support. So many much-needed resources will now be at their fingertips.”
Penilla Gunther, President of the European Patient Safety Foundation and Co-Chair of the smartCARE Steering Committee, said,
“It was very important to make the app tailored to different ages of users.
“That’s why we organised separate workshops for paediatrics, adults and adolescents from many countries in Europe. I am very pleased that the future app has a wide range of functionalities and that it will be easy to use for older people as well.”
