How to use e-IMPAQc
e-IMPAQc stands for the Electronic Implementation of Patient- and caregiver-reported outcomes Across cancer centres in Quebec. e-IMPAQc can help by giving you tools to track your symptoms and communicate them to your healthcare team in real time. It will also provide you the information you need to manage these symptoms.
e-IMPAQc is launching at cancer centres in Montreal in 2022. For more information on using e-IMPAQc, please choose your hospital from the list below.
e-IMPAQc tools are available to patients at the MUHC through the Opal app, an award-winning application developed at the McGill University Health Centre.
For more information on how to use e-IMPAQc for patients at the MUHC, see our patient training video below (version française à venir):
Coming soon!
Coming soon!
Why track symptoms using e-IMPAQc?
Everyone experiences the symptoms of cancer and cancer treatment differently. Keeping track of your symptoms helps your healthcare team understand how you feel so they can support you and respond to your symptoms and concerns.
e-IMPAQc is based on research that shows that keeping track of your physical and emotional symptoms and practical concerns can improve health outcomes. For more information on the research behind symptom screening, see the following websites:
- Does routine assessment and real-time feedback improve cancer patients’ psychosocial well-being?
- Overall Survival Results of a Trial Assessing Patient-Reported Outcomes for Symptom Monitoring During Routine Cancer Treatment
- Measuring Quality of Life in Routine Oncology Practice Improves Communication and Patient Well-Being: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Tracking symptoms is often referred to as patient-reported outcomes or PROs. This video from the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer explains more about PROs and how they are used.
What are the tools e-IMPAQc uses to track symptoms and concerns?
e-IMPAQc uses simple questionnaires that only take a few minutes to complete and have been shown to be a reliable way to screen for symptoms commonly experienced by patients with cancer.
Some examples of these tools include:
The Distress Thermometer
Circle the number that best describes your level of distress
Questionnaires
Rate common symptoms on a scale from 1 to 10
How does e-IMPAQc help me manage my symptoms?
e-IMPAQc helps patients manage their symptoms by:
- Generating easy-to-read reports based on your answers to symptom questionnaires and communicates the results to your healthcare team, so you can better address your symptoms together.
- Providing educational and self-management resources that are tailored to your responses to help you cope with your specific symptoms. It is well recognized that successful patient self-management leads to improved health and well-being outcomes.
How can I access e-IMPAQc tools?
We will begin recruiting patients to test e-IMPAQc in Fall 2020. Once e-IMPAQc is fully functional, a member of the care team at your hospital will provide information on how to access e-IMPAQc.
If you are a patient or caregiver interested in participating in the research study, please contact us.
Participating hospitals
