Panel Discussion - INNOVATION

Dr Hunter: I’ve always defined myself not as an academic, but as a pracademic. I’ve never really been involved in the research space, but often with how I can bring the research stuff to the front line. It started on the internet when I was looking to start my private practice, and it evolved from there.

I connected with an amazing group of digital designers who understood how to connect. It led to launching into that social media space, which has been trial and error and understanding what’s out there. From there, into the app development space. I’m part of a group of five gynaecologists developing Charli Health – an app for not only cycle tracking and using AI, but also bringing it from the gynaecology space. We’re now emerging into the fertility tracking journey, then hopefully into early pregnancy.

A/Prof Zissiadis: As part of a cancer care provider, it was obvious there is fragmentation of care, particularly in private health. Women will often go to one location to have their radiology; another location to see their surgeon; another location to get the results and see the oncologist; and another location for the survivorship part of things.

That fragmentation causes patients tremendous stress. I thought there must be a better way of doing this, so that’s where our Breast Bundle project started. We developed a package for women with early breast cancer, trying to link in all the essential services in the first 12 months of their journey – starting from the day they see their surgeon and get their diagnosis, all the way through to survivorship in their very first post-treatment mammogram.

We had a patient navigator who was non-clinical, acting as the patient’s PA throughout the journey. That changed the ball game for patients, and for the practitioners who found patients were so well informed that their quality of life and the practitioner’s quality of life improved significantly.