‘mihealth Newcastle’ is the latest independent evaluation report from Liverpool University covering a series of pilot studies exploring the success of the system in supporting the information needs of breast cancer patients.

“Building on the success of ‘mihealth Liverpool’ – an information management resource initially designed to support patients living with breast cancer at the Linda McCartney Unit, Royal Liverpool University Hospital – this report outlines the findings from a second pilot study which has assessed mihealth’s effectiveness in another regional site. What will follow in this report describes the process of developing mihealth Newcastle and its evaluation from the perspective of patients attending the Newcastle Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI).” | Read more

The full report will be available for download from this web site week beginning 6/5/08. 

Interest in mihealth continues to grow and the Royal Free Hospital & Royal Lancaster Infirmary are the latest to sign up.

Staff at Royal Lancaster Infirmary commented, "the programme will be very useful to our staff and patients and we think it can really take our unit into the 21st century”.

mihealth has already been implemented at Royal Liverpool University Hospital, the Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle and the Royal Marsden Hospital where is being used across a range of cancers. mihealth is easy to set up, please contact us to arrange a free demonstration at your hospital. | Read more

Interim feedback from the School of Population, Community and Behavioural Sciences at Liverpool University has reported a very positive response from patients who have been using mihealth at the Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle.

The University are currently carrying out an independent evaluation of mihealth and the full report is expected to be published towards the end of February 2008 and will be available for download on this web site. Use this link for a snap shot of patient feedback | Read more

"The report ( evaluating mihealth Liverpool) provides an insight into the complexities of the way patients search for and use information in the digital age, the second part of the report applies this knowledge to mihealth to evaluate how well it responded. The authors conclude that mihealth’s flexible and multifunctional design proved very successful in meeting the needs of patients with a range of skills and competencies. This is a thoughtful and well-written report which is strongly recommended for anyone involved in the development of patient information services".
(Magee H (2007) Review of Mihealth Liverpool, Health Expectations, 10, 419-421)
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The Cancer Reform Strategy builds on the progress made since the publication of the NHS Cancer Plan in 2000 and sets a clear direction for cancer services for the next five years. It shows how by 2012 our cancer services can and should become among the best in the world. | Read more

From 2008, information prescriptions will be given to everyone with a long-term condition or social care need, in consultation with a health or social care professional. Information prescriptions will guide people to relevant and reliable sources of information to allow them to feel more in control and better able to manage their condition and maintain their independence. | Read more

Cancer Services Collaborative ‘Improvement Partnership’s national conference to address the current and future issues faced by primary care professionals  identified mihealth as a service that could be extended to help breast cancer patients manage their condition in the community.
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mihealth is currently being piloted as part of the National DoH Information Prescriptions for breast, lung, prostate and ovarian cancer.

From 2008, information prescriptions will be given to everyone with a long-term condition or social care need, in consultation with a health or social care professional. Information prescriptions will guide people to relevant and reliable sources of information to allow them to feel more in control and better able to manage their condition and maintain their independence.

To ensure the successful design and delivery of information prescriptions nationally, the DoH have recruited 20 sites to test and provide evidence of their effectiveness and their impact on the public, professionals and organisations. | Read more

The NHS Cancer Specialist Library is a unique evidence-based resource committed to supporting busy health professionals find the high-quality cancer information they need to keep up-to-date. We provide a comprehensive range of links to emerging guidance and evidence and strive to organise cancer information in accessible and innovative ways, through our Knowledge Updates and National Knowledge Weeks. | Read more

mihealth is currently being piloted with 30+ NHS breast cancer patients in Newcastle at the Royal Victoria Infirmary and in Carlisle at Cumberland Infirmary with Clive Griffith, Clinical Lead for Breast Cancer and Knowledge Management.

A generic care pathway for breast cancer created using Cancerbackup information has been structured around the Cancer Services Collaborative breast pathway and tailored to support local NHS and patient needs.

The final round of patient interviews will take place in Newcastle at the end of the month. It is anticipated that a total of 25 Newcastle patients will have participated in the interview process. Carlisle recruitment is ongoing with interviews taking place in due course. | Read more

We anticipate we will have preliminary feedback in mid December which will be made available on the mihealth web site.

New research highlights information gap for people living with disfiguring conditions. Hundreds of thousands of people affected by disfigurement are not getting the information they need to help them deal with the psychological and social aspects of their condition according to new research.

mihealth is highlighted in the report for it's success in helping patients to search for, manage and evaluate information. | Read more

This paper , “The effect of a decision aid on knowledge and treatment decision making for breast cancer” [H Henteleff, D McCready, A Giuliano; Canadian Journal of Surgery, 2006, 49(6), pp431-433] is about "the effect of a decision aid on knowledge and treatment decision making for breast cancer." The authors of the commentary agree that any tool that improves patient knowledge is a benefit to medical care. | Read more

The BMJ aims to help doctors make better decisions. Often this may best be achieved by helping doctors to help patients make better decisions. Yet recent research from the Picker Institute has found that doctors in the UK are worse at engaging patients in healthcare decisions than doctors in comparable countries. Use of decision aids is only one aspect of engaging patients but it's a potentially important one.

A Cochrane review has found that decision aids improve people's knowledge of the options, create realistic expectations of benefits and harms, reduce difficulty with decision making, and increase participation. | Read more (subscription required)

mihealth will be presenting at the 20th Annual scientific meeting: European Association for Cancer Education, 13-15 June 2007. For more information visit the EACE web site | Read more

mihealth was featured in edition twenty-one of the Cancer Action Team newsletter. The article can be found on page 5 under the heading 'Information support'. | Read more