Click here to access the full ACORN August 2024 Bulletin
ACORN Bulletin August 2024
Welcome to the first ever ACORN bulletin! This monthly update will cover all things ACORN including progress, important news and achievements, and upcoming work.
What have we achieved so far?
- Ran a workshop with 32 clinical representatives from Cancer Alliance Trusts across the region including nurses, doctors, and clinical IT leads.
- Conducted research to generate user requirements, user journeys, user interface (UI) designs, and develop an ACORN prototype platform.
- Engaged with hospitals to map their specific challenges in delivering acute oncology services (AOSs) and discuss ACORN pilot participation.
ACORN Overview and Approach
The ACORN (Acute Oncology Reporting & Navigation) solution is a patient-facing triaging app that, alongside existing triage lines, will manage patients' calls to improve the efficiency of acute oncology services. ACORN will also collect patient health metrics and streamline communication.
52North are partnering with the East of England Cancer Alliance to deliver ACORN. The platform will be co-created with HCPs and patients, with detailed input and user testing to ensure the platform meets their true needs.
We completed the first project phase in May ‘24 which focused on understanding the needs and challenges of clinical stakeholders, developing an ACORN prototype app for rapid interaction and design feedback, and engaging with potential pilot hospitals.
Stakeholder Engagement
We ran a fantastic workshop in April with 32 clinical leaders from Cancer Alliance Trusts across the region including nurses, doctors, and clinical IT leads. We agreed on project objectives, gathered input on what features would be most valuable and should be included in early stages of development, and discussed how ACORN could integrate with other hospital systems and teams. Thank you to everyone who attended and please look out for the workshop report which will be shared soon.
Product Development
52North’s developers have created an ACORN prototype to demonstrate the digital platform’s design and functionality. The platform has been designed to provide a user-friendly experience, ensuring all necessary information is accessible and tasks can be completed with ease.
We will test this prototype, as well as understanding patients' experiences with AOSs, in a workshop at the end of this month. There will then be multiple phases of detailed user testing throughout the product development lifecycle with feedback used to improve the platform.