PALO ALTO, Calif., May 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- In response to
the significant healthcare delivery changes brought on by COVID-19,
Varian (NYSE: VAR) has launched new capabilities for its
Noona® software application, a powerful tool designed to
engage cancer patients in their care for continuous reporting and
symptom monitoring. Noona supports cancer care teams as they face
new short- and long-term healthcare changes created by the pandemic
by providing in-app features such as patient screening, real-time
symptom reporting, secure care team messaging, telephone triage
workflow automation, and patient access to medical records. In
addition, Varian has designed a new approach to quickly and
remotely implement the solution to put it in the hands of cancer
patients and care teams faster, without increasing the risk of
COVID-19 exposure.
"In light of COVID-19 and the difficulties it poses to the
current state of cancer care delivery, cancer patients are more
vulnerable than ever," said Dr. Jeff
Patton, executive chairman, Tennessee Oncology – one of the
nation's largest community-based cancer care groups – and CEO,
OneOncology. "Now more than ever, we need solutions to remotely
communicate with and manage our patients to protect them and our
team who cares for them. Noona is an invaluable solution for facing
the results of the pandemic, and we are confident it will serve as
a strong foundation in the new care landscape for clinicians and
patients well into the future."
Noona has made a positive impact on care offered by Tennessee
Oncology, with nearly 600 care team members using Noona; around
10,000 patients accessing the Noona patient app to report symptoms
and communicate with clinicians; and about 31,000 patients being
managed through the telephone triage workflow automation. Like
other clients, Tennessee Oncology is experiencing even more demand
for the Noona patient app with patient adoption steadily increasing
by about 1,000 new patients a month since the beginning of the
pandemic.
"Telemedicine and digital communication are here to stay, so do
it now and do it forever," Dr. Patton advises. "Noona has helped us
reduce the risk of exposure for patients and staff, while keeping
our healthcare communities fully informed. Since the COVID-19
outbreak first hit, we've found our 'new abnormal' and at the
moment it's stable so we can function in a steady state."
"Solutions like Noona have proven their ability to reduce
emergency room visits, and with the altered state of healthcare
brought on by COVID-19, the value that Noona offers has never been
more needed," said Jani Ahonala, vice president, global patient
outcomes, at Varian. "When the current pandemic began, we
reprioritized our team's daily activities to quickly help our
customers and patients across the globe."
The Varian product team quickly developed and released a new
COVID-19-related symptom screening questionnaire. A series of
questions specific to COVID-19 symptoms, as defined by the World
Health Organization and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
guides the process and taps into severity grading options that, via
a back-end algorithm, will alert the cancer clinic with a "Red" or
High Alert status, allowing care teams to act quickly.
Due to the many new requests for the Noona solution from other
cancer care organizations, the team also reengineered the
implementation process to remotely and quickly get other clinics up
and running. The new rapid deployment process allows solution
experts to configure and set up an entirely new cancer organization
and virtually train care team users through video conferencing
tools and pre-built education materials – in just a few weeks' time
without being onsite.
Learn more about Noona and the value it provides to both
caregivers and patients.
About Varian
At Varian, we envision a world without
fear of cancer. For more than 70 years, we have developed, built
and delivered innovative cancer care technologies and solutions for
our clinical partners around the globe to help them treat millions
of patients each year. With an Intelligent Cancer Care approach, we
are harnessing advanced technologies like artificial intelligence,
machine learning and data analytics to enhance cancer treatment and
expand access to care. Our 10,000 employees across 70 locations
keep the patient and our clinical partners at the center of our
thinking as we power new victories in cancer care. Because, for
cancer patients everywhere, their fight is our fight. For more
information, visit http://www.varian.com and follow
@VarianMedSys on Twitter.
About Tennessee Oncology
Tennessee Oncology, PLLC is
one of the nation's leading teams of cancer care specialists,
nationally recognized for improving patient outcomes and driving
quality of life innovation. In 2018 it created a partnership with
OneOncology, a technology-powered, data-driven, alliance of
America's foremost community oncologists. Our comprehensive range
of cancer care services includes specialized oncology nursing care,
laboratory services, pharmacy, outpatient chemotherapy, PET/CT
services, palliative care, patient and family education and
financial support services. Founded in 1976, our unique vision,
introducing patient-driven care with a clinical trial focus,
propelled Tennessee Oncology to lead one of the largest,
physician-owned, community oncology practices in the country.
Currently over 95 physicians in more than 30 locations, share the
privilege of serving adult cancer patients from South Central
Kentucky through Middle Tennessee to Northwest Georgia. For a complete list of
Physicians, locations and services please
visit: www.tnoncology.com
Press Contact
Aimee
Corso
Health + Commerce
+1 (310) 780-2661
aimee@healthandcommerce.com
Investor Relations Contact
Anshul Maheshwari
Vice President, Investor Relations
+1 (650) 424-5631
investors@varian.com
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SOURCE Varian