When
patients
go
to
Credit
Valley
Hospital
complaining
of
sore
joints,
there’s
a
chance
their
care
will
involve
a
rheumatology
tool
developed
by
Catherine
Burns.
The
systems
design
engineering
professor,
along
with
doctoral
candidate
Tom
Robinson
and
three
co-op
students,
began
working
on
the
software
tool
in
May
2009.
Its
purpose
is
to
eliminate
extra
paperwork
so
rheumatologists
can
spend
their
time
treating
arthritis
patients.
The
tool
also
helps
track
how
patients
respond
to
treatment.
“It’s
really
an
opportunity
to
make
a
difference,”
says
Burns.
“We
see
our
results
help
people
work
better,
safer
and
more
productively.”
Part
of
the
tool’s
beauty
is
its
simplicity.
Andrew
Chow,
the
rheumatologist
who
worked
with
Burns,
has
patients
answer
questions
to
find
out
if
they
can,
say,
reach
a
fivepound
bag
of
sugar
from
overhead.
He
then
clicks
on
problematic
joints
on
a
clickable
computerized
person.
Comparing
new
with
old
summaries
of
patients’
questionnaire
responses
and
sore
joint
lists
show
if
symptoms
have
changed.
Until
now,
tracking
has
been
done
only
on
paper.
Burns
is
gearing
up
for
the
project’s
second
phase
that
will
deal
with
electronic
health
records
and
other
database
systems.
For
the
first
phase,
Bristol
Myers
Squibb
Canada
financially
supported
the
project
and
was
involved
in
design.
“It
has
been
terrific
to
work
so
directly
with
such
engaged
partners,”
she
says.
“It’s
the
partnership
that
really
makes
this
kind
of
research
possible.”
Systems Design Engineering Professor