Dr. Petráková is a distinguished authority in Czech oncology. She has been working at the Masaryk Memorial Cancer Institute (MOÚ) in Brno since 1993, where she is also a Head Physician at the Clinic of Comprehensive Cancer Care. She is the founder of St. Elizabeth Hospice, an accomplished author and reviewer of scientific articles and publications, as well as a passionate lecturer and mentor. She also has a long-standing commitment to the specialised team, focusing on breast cancer treatment.
As a member of the Czech Society for Oncology (ČLS JEP) and the European Society for Medical Oncology, Dr. Petráková contributes significantly to the advancement of oncology on both national and European levels.
Dear Dr. Petráková, you are a physician with extensive clinical experience and a rich knowledge, not only in the treatment of oncology patients but also with years of leadership at the Clinic of Comprehensive Cancer Care at MOÚ as its Head Physician. You founded and led the St. Elizabeth Hospice in Brno, you are an active member of the Czech Society for Oncology’s board, and you have a rich publication record, particularly in the area of breast cancer. You are also dedicated to educating both students and physicians. The list of your accomplishments could go on.
Over the course of your career, you’ve certainly observed changes not only in treatment methods but also in the growth of information and its accessibility. How do you view the current trend of the digitalization of medicine, and where do you see potential for improvement?
Digitalization in medicine is something that will inevitably affect us, just as it has in other fields and in everyday life. It plays an important role in the education of doctors and in communication between patients and healthcare institutions, which has proven effective even at the Masaryk Memorial Cancer Institute. It is also crucial for acquiring new information. It’s not possible to read everything or attend every congress, so this is how information reaches us.
The only situation I would object to is doctor-patient communication. Treating a patient based solely on a questionnaire about chemotherapy side effects, where they describe their issues and I later read about their side effects, check their blood count, and prescribe the next round of chemotherapy based on that – this approach doesn’t work for me. I have been in clinical practice for 30 years, and I need to see the patient. I need to observe how they walk into the office, whether they are short of breath while talking, or if, for example, their arm has swollen after chemotherapy.
Digitalization in medicine is something that will inevitably affect us, just as it has in other fields and in everyday life. It plays an important role in the education of doctors and in communication between patients and healthcare institutions, which has proven effective even at the Masaryk Memorial Cancer Institute.
So, would you use telemedicine in a limited way?
Rather rationally. Of course, there are things that can be addressed with the help of telemedicine, as we do here at our institute. For example, minor health issues like colds, prescribing new medications by another doctor, or vaccinations. However, if a patient has more serious problems, or if I need to make decisions about further treatment, I need to see the patient and talk to them.
Do you believe that applications like Mediately, which according to current data is used by nearly 400 Czech clinical oncologists, can contribute to improving the quality of care for oncology patients?
I definitely think so. Everyone has a mobile phone these days; it’s like our third hand. If I forget my phone at home, I’ll go back for it. I always have it with me, and I can open the drug database whenever I need to. It works very quickly, which is excellent. It’s easy to navigate, it’s user-friendly, which is also important.
Curious about doctors' views on digital healthcare?
Don’t miss Digital Doctor 2024—insights from 8,500+ physicians across 9 countries on key healthcare trends.
Sign up for our newsletter to get the results first!
According to our statistics, oncologists frequently use tools in the Mediately app for drug dosing, such as Kisqali or Lonsurf. The second most commonly used tool is the "Management of immune-related adverse events in immunotherapy" tool. Recently, a CTCAE classification tool was added to the app. It seems that treatment side effects are currently a very important aspect of oncology. We’ve observed that primary care doctors are not sufficiently familiar with the side effects of immunotherapy. Our surveys show that oncology is the "least favored" topic among other physicians. They often say that it’s difficult to keep up with current trends due to the large amount of new data.
Do you think applications like Mediately can help raise awareness of immunotherapy side effects and support oncologists in educating other doctors, such as general practitioners, in these areas?
I would be a little cautious about general practitioners because they have to absorb so much information from other fields. What’s important for GPs to know is that a patient is being treated with immunotherapy and that it can have serious side effects. They don’t need to know the details; it’s enough to refer the patient to a center where they are being treated. Even oncologists who don’t treat patients with immunotherapy don’t know the side effects in detail. And those who don’t use immunotherapy regularly don’t know them either. The CTCAE classification is definitely helpful when, for example, we need to classify a side effect for a clinical study or for monitoring a patient.
So, do you think it’s more appropriate to expand awareness and tools about immunotherapy primarily among oncologists?
Absolutely. We don’t even want patients to go to primary care physicians with these issues. We inform patients about the specific symptoms they should address directly with an oncology center. A general practitioner encounters these treatment side effects very rarely and may not be able to assess their severity. For this reason, I would focus on educating oncologists.
The Mediately app offers accredited educational courses focused on oncology. Doctors can study various topics within the app and then take a test, earning credits upon successful completion.
Do you think this educational format can help enhance awareness among oncologists and other medical professionals? And what type of ongoing education do you believe is most effective for doctors today?
I think it can. It really depends on what you prefer. I enjoy these tests, and I also like case studies. You can usually find them on the web or receive links through email. I’m particularly interested in seeing what approach other doctors would suggest.
I also enjoy webinars where presentations are accompanied by expert commentary or discussions with doctors from other institutions. For example, we recently held a meeting at the Masaryk Memorial Cancer Institute with oncologists from institutions in Moravia who treat patients with immunotherapy. It was an interesting way to exchange information.
Do you think it’s even possible to keep up with new trends given the increasing volume of information today?
You can stay aware, yes. But if you want to go into depth, you can only manage two or three diagnoses.
Over 70% of Czech doctors are registered in Mediately. The drug database feature is especially popular, but the app also offers various tools and calculators, educational courses, and recently, drug interaction checks. The information published on Mediately therefore reaches a wide audience among doctors of all specialties.
In which app features do you see potential, and what kind of content do you think the app could focus on in the future to make everyday practice easier for doctors? Are there any features you personally like to use in the app?
The database is excellent. For example, I was just using it to search for antibiotic treatment for certain complications. I quickly navigated through the app and found the answer to my question. That’s really important; you’ve done it very well in Mediately.
The guidelines are great too – I can quickly find recommendations for first-line treatment of metastatic breast cancer, second-line treatments… that’s very useful as well. Doctors always have it on their phone and can make fast decisions. They don’t need to have internet access.
The final question I'd like to ask is about your opinion on our newly developed Predict Breast Cancer tool. What potential do you see for its use, what barriers might exist, and what do you consider to be the greatest advantages of this tool for clinical practice? Additionally, do you think having such tools integrated into one app is beneficial for doctors?
I’ll start with the last part – I think it is beneficial. We use it a lot at MOÚ – not just for chemotherapy, but also for decisions about hormonal treatments, like the STEEP analysis for indicating LHRH analogs plus aromatase inhibitors. We also have access to multigene tests, such as MammaPrint, which helps us make decisions about adjuvant chemotherapy indications. These tools are also important for communication with the patient. You can explain to them what their risk is, based on some database, and what the likely benefit of the chemotherapy will be. You have a graph, a result, and a risk assessment right there.
Did this interview provide valuable insight into doctors' opinion on digital healthcare?
Don't miss Digital Doctor 2024 results, where more than 8500 physicians from nine countries shared their insights on other key healthcare topics.
Sign up for our newsletter to be the first to get the results directly in your inbox!