Workflow: Creating a Patient Treatment Journey Summary

When a patient moves between care settings, transfers to a different oncologist, or returns after a gap, a clear treatment journey summary is invaluable. This workflow shows you how to use an AI tool to produce a structured, readable summary from an anonymised clinical timeline.

1. Create an anonymised timeline of the key clinical events

   Before opening the tool, write down the key events in chronological order: diagnosis date (use month and year, not specific date), treatment received (by category, not specific drug names if preferred), significant clinical events, disease response or progression points, and current status. Remove all identifying information. This becomes your source material.

2. Decide who the summary is for

   A summary for a general practitioner (GP) is different from one for a new oncology colleague taking over the patient's care, which is different again from one for the patient themselves. Decide the audience before you open the tool. The language, level of detail, and tone will be different in each case.

3. Open the tool and set the context

   Open your AI tool and tell it: "I am an oncologist creating a treatment journey summary. I will give you an anonymised chronological list of clinical events. Organise them into a clear, structured summary for [[audience — e.g. a GP / an oncology colleague / the patient]]. Use plain English. Do not add clinical information I have not provided."

4. Provide your chronological bullet points

   Paste or type your anonymised clinical timeline. Keep it factual. The tool will produce a structured narrative summary.

5. Review for clinical accuracy

   Read the output carefully. Check that the chronology is correct — occasionally the tool reorganises events in a way that changes the clinical narrative. Check that each clinical event is described accurately. Check that nothing has been added that was not in your source material.

6. Adjust the language for the intended reader

   For a GP summary, the language can be slightly more clinical than for a patient-facing version. For a patient-facing summary, ask the tool to simplify any technical terms: "Rewrite the following section in plainer language, suitable for someone with no medical background." Read both versions and use the appropriate one for the intended reader.

7. Add a current status and next steps section

   The most useful part of any handover summary is the most current information. After reviewing the chronological section, add a brief paragraph yourself (or ask the tool to draft it from your bullet points) covering: current disease status, current treatment or monitoring plan, next clinical contact, and the primary point of contact for the receiving team.

8. Transfer to your clinical system and add identifying details

   Copy the reviewed summary into your clinical letter template or handover document. Add the patient's name, date of birth, hospital number, and the name of the receiving clinician. Sign and send through your normal clinical channels.

What this means for you

A clear treatment journey summary reduces the chance that a patient's new clinician starts from scratch because the handover was incomplete. It also reduces the chance that a GP mismanages a post-treatment symptom because they did not understand the patient's treatment history. Good documentation is part of good care.

When not to use this workflow

If your clinical system generates a formal discharge or handover letter automatically from structured records, use that. This workflow is for situations where no automatic summary exists — complex patients with multiple episodes of care, patients transferring from other centres, or patients returning after a long gap.

Remember: AI is a helpful assistant, not a clinician. You make the call.