Rhineland-Palatinate Cancer Registry
Reporting Portal
The “Reporting Portal” project was an interdisciplinary, cross-functional initiative aimed at improving the platform’s usability, which ran from July 2020 to February 2023. The project was based on a multi-method usability study conducted by the Cancer Registry Division at the Institute for Digital Health Data RLP, which has been comprehensively collecting inpatient and outpatient patient data on the incidence, treatment, and progression of cancer since 2016.
Each year, oncology facilities submit approximately 450,000 reports to the RLP Cancer Registry, where they are processed and evaluated under quality-assurance protocols. Data is now available on nearly 1,000,000 people with cancer. The primary goal of the RLP Cancer Registry is to improve oncological care for patients in Rhineland-Palatinate. Therefore, all employees are committed to the shared goal of providing the best possible support to physicians, as well as the scientific and research communities, in the fight against cancer.
Background and Objectives
The WIMM research group at Mainz University of Applied Sciences, led by Prof. Dr. Sven Pagel, conducted a scientific usability study on the reporting portal. The purpose of the study was to make it easier for oncologists to fulfill their reporting obligations on behalf of the Cancer Registry Division at the Institute for Digital Health Data RLP and the Lower Saxony Clinical Cancer Registry.
To this end, a study was designed to measure usability (effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction). The research questions were as follows:
- Who are the users of the reporting portal? Which features are used, and how often?
- What are users satisfied with, and what could be improved?
- How can the reporting portal be improved or expanded?
The resulting recommendations will then be used by the developers to improve the portal’s user-friendliness.
Methodology
The study was designed using a multi-method approach. First, a quantitative survey was conducted among users. Subsequently, a qualitative sub-study examined a specific section of the reporting portal: the oncology patient record (oPa).
In the quantitative sub-study “Reporting Portal,” doctors, medical assistants, and medical records specialists who regularly use the reporting portal were surveyed about their usage behavior and satisfaction using the online survey tool “LimeSurvey.” Over a period of about two months, nearly 300 people participated in the usability study. The study examined the effectiveness and efficiency of working with the Rhineland-Palatinate Cancer Registry’s digital reporting portal, as well as overall satisfaction with the platform.
As part of the “Oncology Patient Record (oPa)” sub-study, a qualitative survey was conducted in the form of a questionnaire. The research questions were designed based on the variables of usability (ease of use) and behavioral intention. The survey period spanned two months and reached 28 participants, 11 of whom completed the questionnaire in full.
Results
Under the variable “Time to Use,” study participants were asked how many minutes, on average, it takes them to use the “Create Patient” function. The analysis revealed that the more frequently the feature is used, the less time is required to use it (an average of 7.6 minutes for those using it more than several times a week, and an average of 10.3 minutes for those using it less frequently).
On average, medical assistants take the longest to create patient records (11.7 minutes), while medical records clerks take only 7.9 minutes.
The results of the “oPA” sub-study show that awareness of this feature has been minimal to nonexistent thus far. This leads to the recommendation that efforts should first focus on raising awareness of the oncological patient record.
The study’s findings and recommendations now serve as the basis for concrete improvements and adjustments to enhance the platform’s user-friendliness.