Caisis.org FAQ

What can Caisis do for physicians? | Project History

Physicians are increasingly being forced to see more patients in less time, while meeting strict documentation guidelines. Many clinicians also participate in clinical studies that require additional staff to manage research data and ensure that protocol guidelines are met for all active patients. The Caisis team sought to address these and other issues faced by clinicians by building a research system that integrates seamlessly with clinical practice.

Caisis addresses documentation issues by storing key patient data in chronological order. These data are stored in a carefully designed relational database, so that data can be collected once, reviewed at each clinic for modifications or additions, and updated before the patient’s next visit. This avoids the time-consuming and error-prone process of collecting and reentering patient therapies, medications, comorbidities, and histories at each visit. Once in the database, patient histories are summarized by computer algorithms and then printed on clinic forms. Forms that have been approved by the clinic’s billing and compliance group can be used in lieu of a dictation, reducing the time and money spent dictating and transcribing. Of course, the physician still retains the option of dictating, if desired.

Clinic data is also vital for the management of patients on clinical studies. Many institutions store clinical and research information in separate databases. However, an overwhelming percentage of the information used for research is also used for documentation and clinical decisions, so that there is justification for linking these systems. Therefore, both clinical and research information are stored in Caisis but are “logically” separated to avoid having research information affect clinical decisions.

Caisis is designed to be an “evergreen” system that is updated periodically. For example, electronic forms and protocol management tools were added to the system in 2005. This allows current paper forms to be systematically replaced by electronic forms for the display, entry, and submission of data for research and documentation purposes. Protocol management tools will generate treatment schemas to track required events and to minimize manual data entry. Other planned enhancements include “intelligent” data entry and user interfaces.

Caisis can be downloaded at no cost and modified by anyone with experience using Microsoft’s ASP.Net technology. The Caisis team is also open to advice and recommendations from outside sources. In fact, the team is striving to build a community of contributors from around the world, who can work together to improve and share every aspect of clinic and research business processes. If you would like more information about Caisis or would like to speak to a member of the Caisis team, please do not hesitate to contact us at CaisisAdmin@mskcc.org.