B2B Integrated Marketing for Online Cancer Care Portal

TCCC Application Advances the Quality of Thyroid Cancer Care

Amplify Helps the THANC Foundation Deliver an Innovative Web Application from Conception to Completion

The Thyroid Head and Neck Cancer Foundation (THANC) has been a client of Amplify’s since 2009. They originally contacted Amplify to develop a complex web application called the Thyroid Cancer Care Collaborative (TCCC). The goal of the application was to improve connectivity between medical oncologists, radiologists, endocrinologists, surgeons, primary care physicians and patients. They contacted Amplify during the early stages of determining the scope of this application, understanding they would need guidance from conception to completion, as this was a major undertaking from both a business and development standpoint.

Challenges

The THANC Foundation’s objective was clear, but the path to get there wasn’t. They envisioned TCCC as an application to address inadequacies in healthcare stemming from the growing complexity of science and technology, the increasing number of patients with chronic conditions, obstacles to exploiting the revolution in information technology, and a poorly organized system of healthcare delivery.

The TCCC application had to solve several fundamental issues in thyroid healthcare delivery at once – it needed to be a complex system with streamlined usability, benefitting doctors, patients and institutions equally. The THANC Foundation had an idea that would improve the quality of thyroid cancer care, but had no way to turn this idea into a fully functional web application.

Solutions

At the start of the relationship, Amplify and the THANC Foundation worked closely together to develop the final concept for the TCCC application. This involved a deep examination of the THANC Foundation’s goals, the original idea for TCCC, and the broader thyroid healthcare environment in which TCCC was meant to transform.

The THANC Foundation initially thought they only needed a shared Access database, but it was uncovered that they needed a fully integrated web application. With the full scope of the system was determined, application development could proceed with a deep understanding of how the system should work. Development also consisted of database architecture and development, API integrations, creation of data repositories and creation of specific modules for different healthcare specialists.

In addition to application and database development, TCCC also received user interface design to improve not only usability but marketability. While functionality was a priority, the THANC Foundation still needed to get institutions, physicians, specialists, researchers and patients to register with the service – in other words, they need to attract, engage and convert leads so the TCCC application would succeed in its mission.

Results

The THANC Foundation received a Health Insurance Portability and Accountability (HIPAA) compliant web application backed by an SQL database accessible to doctors and patients. TCCC now allows doctors to share diagnostic information with other doctors on their care team, includes decision aids for doctors to refer to specific clinical guidelines, and even enables institutions to register and manage all their doctors and patients.

TCCC provided patients with an easy, safe way to store and share their own records with the doctors they choose. TCCC also included timelines of a patient’s care, as well as over 40 educational videos on thyroid cancer covering everything from the basics to the most complex procedures.

In the end, TCCC has successfully helped improve the quality of healthcare for thyroid cancer patients and made collaboration for doctors and specialists much easier and more effective. Amplify continues to perform ongoing maintenance and support for the application as doctors and patients across the nation continue to register.

TCCC is an innovative system that solves fundamental problems in thyroid cancer care – problems that face most of the healthcare industry. Together, Amplify and the THANC Foundation developed the final concept, uncovered the path forward to reach the THANC Foundation’s objectives, and delivered the only application of its kind for thyroid cancer care.