WASHINGTON — (HEALTHCAREDIVE)
West Cancer Center & Research Institute, a leader in oncology care, has teamed up with EngagedMD, a leader in digital patient education and consenting, to launch an innovative program that aims to reshape the breast cancer care experience. Combining West Cancer Center’s clinical expertise with EngagedMD’s patient education platform, this partnership is setting a new standard for how patients navigate their cancer journey.
The program focuses on providing breast cancer patients with interactive, on-demand eLearning modules, guiding them through essential elements of their care—from understanding their diagnosis and their treatment team to managing side effects and navigating financial concerns. The goal is to ensure that patients are better equipped with the knowledge they need to feel confident, reduce anxiety, and engage more meaningfully with their care team.
With over 2.3 million women diagnosed with breast cancer each year globally, and one in eight women in the U.S. facing a breast cancer diagnosis in their lifetime (World Health Organization, 2021; American Cancer Society, 2022), the demand for effective patient education is critical. Research shows that improved education leads to better patient comprehension, reduced anxiety, and increased adherence to treatment plans (National Cancer Institute, 2022).
Dr. Richard Gilmore, Breast Surgical Oncologist at West Cancer Center, shared his optimism about the collaboration:
“Breast cancer patients face an overwhelming amount of information at one of the most difficult times in their lives. With EngagedMD, we’re working to ensure our patients feel more confident and prepared to go into their consults, leading to higher comprehension and lower anxiety throughout their journey. This is about empowering them with knowledge while giving our team more time to provide the compassionate, personalized care every patient deserves. By working with EngagedMD, we have the opportunity to not only enhance breast cancer care at West Cancer Center but also pave the way for improving patient education across oncology as a whole.”
This partnership highlights West Cancer Center’s commitment to driving innovation and delivering patient-centered care. By integrating EngagedMD’s digital tools, the program also aims to ease the burden on clinical workflows. This will allow providers to focus on personalized care while ensuring patients have access to reliable, doctor-approved resources at every step of their journey.
Ross Goglia, Director of New Markets at EngagedMD, shared his thoughts on the collaboration: “Expanding into oncology was a natural next step for EngagedMD. We’ve already revolutionized patient education in fertility care, where we save nearly an hour per case and support nearly 2 in 3 patients on their journey. Partnering with West Cancer Center—a leader in compassionate, cutting-edge care—is an exciting opportunity to bring that same level of impact to oncology and transform the patient experience in cancer care.”
This marks a pivotal moment in EngagedMD’s mission to enhance patient education across various specialties. It’s the first step in a broader effort to build out a comprehensive patient journey for breast cancer care and expand patient education and consenting tools to other common cancer diagnoses, such as prostate cancer.
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About
About West Cancer Center & Research Institute
West Cancer Center & Research Institute is a nationally recognized leader in oncology care, dedicated to advancing research and providing comprehensive, compassionate care to cancer patients. With a focus on innovation and excellence, West Cancer Center aims to improve patient outcomes and experiences at every stage of the cancer journey. For more information, visit westcancercenter.org.
About EngagedMD
People perform best when they are empowered to do the work they love. The thing doctors and nurses love is taking care of people. EngagedMD automates patient education and admin, two time-intensive functions that get in the way of carers actually caring for people. Medical practices that use EngagedMD save up to 56 minutes of patient time per day, which means more time for high-quality consults, more space to support patients, and more moments to breathe. The effect? Happier staff taking better care of more people.
To learn more about EngagedMD’s new oncology solutions, visit engagedmd.com/oncology.
