UK's NHS/ABPI scheme honored by IT magazine

An information technology project developed to help tackle the problem that the uptake of new oncology drugs varies widely across the UK (so-called "post code prescribing") has been listed in the top 100 IT organizations worldwide by CIO magazine. The Chemotherapy Planning Oncology Resource Tool (C-PORT) was developed by the Pharmaceutical Oncology Initiative Partnership. It is a joint venture between the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry and the National Health Service.

C-PORT is a capacity simulator, a modeling tool utilizing statistical methods to predict how chemotherapy units will perform under different conditions. It allows NHS chemotherapy units to plan for the uptake of new cancer medicines and redesign the way they deliver chemotherapy to improve efficiency and patient experience.

More than 80 NHS staff were consulted during the design and test program and it is currently being deployed with overwhelming support from doctors, nurses, pharmacists and managers, the ABPI claims. Mike Richards, the NHS' National Cancer Director, said: "I strongly recommend that cancer networks and their stakeholders use this tool to improve forward planning for cancer drugs."