Personalized engagement, throughout the entire patient journey.
5thPort is a Patient Education & eConsent platform that helps healthcare providers – including radiation oncologists – educate and engage patients throughout their care journey.
Through personalized AI Avatar videos, interactive education, comprehension checks and eConsent, 5thPort helps patients understand what to expect pre-, during and post-treatment while giving care teams greater visibility into patient engagement metrics and patient readiness.
To the right, is an example of how 5thPort can support a patient with prostate cancer – through all stages of their care journey.
*Click the image above to enlarge and view it in more detail.
Let’s follow David through his patient journey…
Meet David, a fictional patient diagnosed with prostate cancer. His exact path will depend on his diagnosis, radiation oncologists, care team and treatment plan, but like many patients, he will move through a series of conversations, decisions and stages of care.
Follow David to see how 5thPort can keep him informed, prepared and supported along the way—while giving his care team insight into what he’s watched, what he understands and where he may need more support.
CONSULT
David has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. His case may have been reviewed by a multidisciplinary team, or he may have been referred by another physician. His next step is to meet with a specialist to better understand his diagnosis and treatment options.
Before the appointment, David receives a link to his 5thPort engagement plan from his care team. 5thPort is web-based, so there’s no app to download—David simply opens the link on his phone, tablet or computer.
There, a personalized video introduces the physician he’ll be meeting:
“Hi David, I’m Dr. Lewis. I’ll be seeing you for your consultation on October 15.”
Additional education helps David understand what may be discussed during the appointment and introduces potential treatment options, so he can start thinking about his questions and priorities.
Before he even arrives, David knows who he’ll be meeting, what to expect and feels better prepared to take part in the conversation about his care.
TREATMENT PREPARATION
After conversations with his care team, including a team of radiation oncologists, David and his physicians have decided to move forward with brachytherapy. Now the focus shifts from deciding what treatment he’ll receive to getting ready for it.
Through 5thPort, his care team sends education specific to his treatment plan, along with the instructions he needs to prepare. Depending on his procedure, this could include information about treatment planning, medications, fasting, bowel preparation, transportation, appointments and what to expect on treatment day.
Reminders reinforce important instructions as the date approaches, while simple teach-back questions help identify anything David may not fully understand.
And, instead of going home with a stack of papers and trying to remember everything he was told, David has one place to go back to whenever he has a question.
When treatment day arrives, David knows where to go, how to prepare and what to expect.
TREATMENT
David begins treatment. Now his questions to his team of radiation oncologists are less about choosing a treatment and more about experiencing it: What happens today? Is what I’m experiencing expected? What happens next?
5thPort continues the conversation with education and guidance relevant to where David is in his treatment. He can revisit instructions, understand what to expect and receive information from his care team as his needs change.
And while David engages with that information, his care team can see what he has viewed, completed and understood—and where he may need additional support.
David stays informed and supported throughout treatment, both inside and outside the clinic.
RECOVERY & FOLLOW-UP
David has completed treatment, but his care doesn’t stop when he leaves the clinic.
Now the focus turns to recovery and early follow-up. Through 5thPort, David receives guidance about expected side effects, managing symptoms, signs that warrant a call to his care team and upcoming follow-up appointments.
When questions come up at home, he can return to information from his care team instead of relying on what he remembers from previous conversations.
David knows what to expect during recovery, what to watch for and when to reach out for help.
SURVIVORSHIP
As David moves further beyond treatment, the focus shifts again—from recovery to monitoring his prostate cancer, managing longer-term effects of treatment and maintaining his health and quality of life.
Through 5thPort, David can continue receiving relevant education about PSA monitoring, follow-up care, longer-term side effects and changes he should discuss with his care team.
Months may pass between appointments, but David still has trusted information to return to as new questions arise.
David may be finished with treatment, but he’s not finished needing information and support.
David’s journey may be fictional. But, the results are real:
Case Study: 5thPort Pilots Patient Engagement and Education Program in Large Mid-Atlantic Hospital
To positively impact the quality and consistency of patient education and improve its teach back survey scores, a large mid-Atlantic Cancer Center and Research Institute piloted 5thPort under the leadership of its Chair of Radiation Oncology. We were able to validate the significant value, for both patients and caregivers (providers and nurses), in pre-educating patients ahead of their consultation.
The results were significant.
- 50% of patients completed their engagement on a mobile device.
- Patients were highly satisfied with the multimedia engagement, rating it a 4.33 on a 5 point scale.
- Patients reported less stress on the day of their appointments and greater empowerment to participate in their healthcare decisions.
- Patients spent 30 to 40 minutes less in the waiting room by completing all paperwork remotely on their own devices.
- Radiation oncologists saved an average of 15 to 20 minutes per patient consultation with NO additional effort.
- Nurses reported that conversations with patients were easier, shorter and more focused.