Varian Medical Systems (NYSE:VAR) announced that it launched new capabilities for its Noona software for monitoring cancer patients.
Noona supports cancer care teams with patient screening, real-time symptom reporting, secure care team messaging, telephone triage automation and patient access to medical records, enabling continuous reporting and symptom monitoring for cancer patients.
Palo Alto, Calif.-based Varian also designed a new way to quickly and remotely implement the Noona software for cancer patients and care teams in a faster manner without increasing the risk of exposure to COVID-19.
Noona has already been implemented into care offered by Tennessee Oncology, with nearly 600 care team members using it, approximately 10,000 patients accessing the application and about 31,000 patients being managed through the triage automation.
“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,” Tennessee Oncology executive chairman and OneOncology CEO Dr. Jeff Patton said in a news release. “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.”
Varian also developed and released a new COVID-19-related symptom screening questionnaire to allow care teams to act quickly to alerts. The company also re-engineered the implementation process to remotely and quickly get other clinics up and running.
“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,” Varian VP of global patient outcomes Jani Ahonala said. “When the current pandemic began, we reprioritized our team’s daily activities to quickly help our customers and patients across the globe.”
Noona and other systems like it may become more prevalent as the COVID-19 pandemic wears on, as recent analysis finds that the demand for telehealth technology is expected to rise as a result.