Oncology software and haematology follow-up: numbers you can compare from cycle to cycle
Oncology software is judged at the fourth cycle, not the first visit: did the target lesions shrink, did fatigue climb a grade, did the marker fall? Haematology asks the same of haemoglobin, platelets and the INR. This guide covers what the follow-up record should hold, how the visit runs in OPALEVI, and where it stops.
Key takeaways
- Follow-up in both specialities is comparison over time: keep each value in its own field, with its unit.
- Besides the BMI, OPALEVI calculates three things here: the sum of RECIST target diameters (with a lesion count), the absolute neutrophil count, and the body surface area printed on the treatment summary.
- It does not stage, judge or dose: the stage group, the response to treatment and every dose are the clinician's own entries, and no value is compared with a reference range.
- Two printouts carry the work outside the room: the oncology treatment summary for colleagues, and the anticoagulation card the patient keeps.
Signs your oncology and haematology follow-up has outgrown letters and spreadsheets
Most units start with dictated letters and a spreadsheet kept by one careful nurse. Months into a course of treatment, the two drift apart:
- The stage loses its edition. “T2 N1” was written, but against which manual?
- Toxicity becomes adjectives. “Tolerating well” and “more tired” cannot be compared; grades can.
- The lesion sum is redone by hand after each scan, and a non-target lesion slips into the total.
- Counts live outside the file. The note says “counts stable”; the numbers are in the spreadsheet.
- The INR card is a scrap of paper, and the clinic's dose history differs from the patient's.
In both specialities the finding is usually a direction: falling, rising, holding. The record should show it without retyping a number.
What an oncology and haematology follow-up record should hold
First decide what each visit must capture, whatever system you use:
| Field | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| TNM codes with prefix and edition | A T2 means what the named manual says; c, p or yp tells a clinical stage from a pathological one. |
| Biomarker results | Each marker tested, with its result, and the detail (variant, score) that treatment turns on. |
| Intent, line, regimen and cycles given | Where the patient is in the course, and how each cycle went. |
| Adverse-event grades | One CTCAE grade per effect, so toxicity compares across cycles. |
| Lesions and their measurements | Target and non-target kept apart, so only targets enter the sum. |
| Performance status and a tumour marker | ECOG and the marker the tumour is followed by, with its unit. |
| Blood counts, iron and coagulation | Haemoglobin, white cells, platelets, ferritin, INR as numbers, never as “normal”. |
| Anticoagulation targets and dosing history | The range aimed for and each check, in a form the patient can carry. |
The record keeps; the clinician decides
Software should store a stage, a grade or an INR exactly as entered. Whether a response is partial, or a dose should change, is the treating clinician's judgement.
An oncology cycle visit in OPALEVI, step by step
Take a patient due for cycle 4 of 6 in the oncology department of OPALEVI for hospitals. Bold words are on-screen labels.
Booking and the day before
Cycle 4 is booked under Add appointment; tick Email the patient a reminder the day before so the patient is emailed a reminder the day before.
Vital signs
A nurse enters weight, height, temperature, oxygen saturation, pulse and blood pressure under Vital signs (OPALEVI works out the BMI), then Mark ready for the doctor.
Stage and markers
Under Diagnosis and stage, choose the TNM prefix, the T, N and M codes, the Stage group and the Staging edition; anything the codes cannot hold, such as (sn) or R0, goes in TNM descriptors. Biomarker results takes one result per marker tested; untested markers stay empty.
Treatment and toxicity
Set the Treatment intent and the Line of therapy, type the Regimen and the cycle (“4 out of 6”), and add today's line to Cycles given. CTCAE grades takes the worst grade since the last visit for ten effects, and refuses a grade above an effect's top: nausea cannot be 4.
Lesions, status and plan
Pin each lesion on the Lesion map, choose the ECOG grade, type the tumour marker with its unit, select the Response to treatment and write the plan.
Print and close
Write the Prescription, then print the Treatment summary from the visit header and use Book a follow-up appointment for cycle 5.
The lesion map and the RECIST sum
Under Lesions (RECIST 1.1), each pin on the body figure is one lesion with its type, organ and measurement. A Target lesion takes its longest diameter, or a node's short axis; a Non-target lesion may carry a size, but its target box greys out. OPALEVI shows the Sum of target diameters, skipping non-target pins, and the number of Lesions marked. That is arithmetic: the response stays your selection, and today's sum is not compared with the baseline.
ECOG and the marker across visits
ECOG across visits and Tumour marker across visits draw this patient's earlier values in the department beside today's, once two exist, with no band or target line. A drift from ECOG 1 to 2 shows without opening each visit.
The treatment summary
The Treatment summary is the sheet for a colleague or the next hospital: diagnosis and TNM with the edition, biomarkers, intent, regimen and cycles given, performance status, response, marker, the lesions and the CTCAE table. Weight and height print with the Body surface area (Mosteller), a measurement only: no dose is calculated from it.
Haematology: counts, the smear and the anticoagulation card
The haematology department has its own record, the Haematology follow-up, and a nurse's vitals strip of oxygen saturation, blood glucose and pulse.
The smear in words
A film is described, not measured, so Peripheral blood keeps three text boxes, Erythrocytes, Leukocytes and Platelets, with the clinic's saved phrases.
Counts, iron and coagulation as numbers
Blood counts takes haemoglobin, white cells, platelets and the neutrophil percentage, and OPALEVI calculates the Absolute neutrophil count from the white cells and that percentage. Iron and vitamins and Coagulation take ferritin, transferrin saturation, B12, folate, INR, aPTT and D-dimer. None is compared with a reference range, and all are typed from the laboratory's report, even your own laboratory's.
Haemoglobin across visits and White cells and platelets across visits chart the trend.
Anticoagulation, transfusion and the maps
Anticoagulation holds the indication, agent, lowest and highest target INR, intended duration and the Dosing record: date, INR, Weekly dose or plan and Next check per line. The Anticoagulation card prints it for the patient. OPALEVI never says whether an INR is in range and never adjusts a dose.
Transfusion records the component, units and date: one entry per visit, not a blood-bank log. Physical examination takes spleen and liver below the costal margin and the Palpable lymph nodes map, each node with size, consistency and tenderness. Bleeding into the skin marks petechiae, purpura, ecchymoses and haematomas.
Working with the laboratory, radiology and the rest of the hospital
With two or more departments, a few links matter:
- Referrals inside the hospital. Refer to a department sends a request with a Clinical reason to the receiving department's Referrals worklist, where Take it on books it; the sender follows it under Requests raised from this visit.
- The laboratory. If the hospital's own laboratory works in OPALEVI, order the count on the visit's Analyses card and read the answer in Analysis results (medical laboratory software).
- Imaging and biopsies. The CT that measures the lesions comes from radiology, its PDF attached under Visit documents; many patients arrive after an endoscopy biopsy (gastroenterology software), from a chest clinic (pulmonology software) or with a rising PSA from urology.
- Letters out. The Referral letter names the addressee, urgency, question and findings, and adds the visit's diagnosis and therapy.
Invoice this visit bills the consultation; invoices are on from registration. These records start open to clinical staff allowed to read records; Record privacy under Department setup can switch them to The department or to Only the clinician, meaning whoever each record is assigned to. Reception reads visit history only if the hospital switches it on; finance never does. The Change history keeps who changed what, and when.
Questions to ask before choosing oncology software
Ask every vendor, us included, and test the answers on a real course of treatment.
| Question | A good answer | OPALEVI |
|---|---|---|
| Is TNM stored with its prefix and edition? | Codes, prefix and manual named. | Yes: prefix, T, N, M, stage group and edition. |
| Does it work out the stage group? | Clarity about what is calculated. | No: the stage group is chosen by the clinician. |
| Does it sum RECIST targets correctly? | Non-target lesions kept out of the sum. | Yes: non-target pins are skipped. |
| Does it assign the RECIST response? | A stated rule, or none. | No: the response is the clinician's selection. |
| Does it calculate chemotherapy doses? | A tested dosing module, or a clear no. | No: BSA prints on the summary; doses are written by the oncologist. |
| Do lab results fill the haematology record? | A direct link from the laboratory. | No: counts are typed; requests and results live in the laboratory module. |
| Is transfusion tracked? | Component, units, date; ideally bag-level. | Partly: one component, units and date per visit. |
| How does the price grow? | Known before signing. | Per staff member with an active account; cycles, patients and visits do not change it. |
The pricing page has the figures, and the features page every module. The buyer's checklist for clinic software goes through invoicing, data protection and the trial.
A first week with oncology and haematology in OPALEVI
First steps on the Today screen lists what is left to set up.
Register and tick both departments
Register as a hospital and tick oncology and haematology; the oncology department page lists what its record holds.
Services and letterhead
Add your services and prices (consultation, cycle visit, smear review) and Set up the report letterhead, so the summary and the card carry your name.
One real course
Enter one patient's stage, biomarkers and cycles; pin the lesions from the last CT and check the sum against its report.
The team
Invite your colleagues: nurses, reception and the laboratory, each with their own role.
Record the same values every visit
Charts need two visits with values. Record ECOG, the marker and the counts every time, and the direction shows from the second follow-up.
Frequently asked questions
What is oncology software?
A program that keeps a cancer patient's follow-up structured: TNM stage with its edition, biomarkers, cycles, adverse-event grades, lesion measurements, performance status and tumour markers, plus prescriptions and letters. Visits then compare across the whole course, while every clinical judgement stays with the oncologist.
Does OPALEVI calculate the stage, the RECIST response or the dose?
No. It adds up the target lesion diameters and counts the lesions, calculates the absolute neutrophil count, and prints the body surface area (Mosteller) on the treatment summary. The stage group, the response to treatment and every dose are entered by the clinician, and no value is compared with a reference range.
Can reception see oncology and haematology notes?
Not by default. Reception books, admits and takes payment; reading visit history is a hospital setting that starts switched off, and finance staff never read clinical records. Among clinicians, in a hospital with two or more departments, Record privacy can limit these records to the department or to the clinician each record is assigned to.
Can haematologists use it on a tablet during ward rounds?
Yes. OPALEVI is used in the web browser, so a tablet, phone or desktop works and nothing has to be installed. A narrow screen gets its navigation as a bar at the bottom, which lets a haematologist look up the last INR at the bedside.
Can we try it before paying?
Yes: registering opens a free trial with no card. Record a real course, then print a treatment summary and an anticoagulation card. Should you not subscribe when it ends, you are charged nothing and can still read what you recorded.
How is OPALEVI priced for an oncology service?
You pay for seats: a seat is a staff member whose account in your hospital is active, and paying for a year lowers the monthly rate. Patients, visits, cycles and departments are never counted, so opening a haematology clinic beside oncology adds nothing unless new staff join. See the pricing page.
