CareChart: Supporting oncology patients after hours and making a difference, one phone call at a time

A cancer diagnosis can bring a lot of anxiety and stress, and patients have questions that often cannot wait until the morning.

That’s when Gemma Agustin steps in. Agustin is an Oncology Nurse and Director of Clinical Management with Bayshore HealthCare’s CareChart, a program that partners with Ontario cancer centres to provide after hours support to oncology patients.

“We are here to help,” says Agustin. “Patients phone an oncology nurse here at CareChart to talk about their symptoms and their concerns after hours. We answer questions and talk to patients after hours when their cancer centre is closed. Sometimes our patients just want to connect with someone. We listen carefully and use our clinical expertise to provide advice and next steps.”

The program has helped patients and the health care system. Since CareChart began 10 years ago, it has grown and expanded to support 72 cancer centres across the province, offering comfort and care to thousands of patients during evenings, weekends and holidays.

Patient satisfaction surveys show that more than 90 per cent of patients had a good experience with CareChart and expressed high satisfaction with the quality of service provided.

Additionally, of the 32, 934 patient calls that CareChart received in 2025, just 24.5 per cent were advised to visit emergency departments.

“A phone call can help alleviate a patient’s worries and address their questions – we are here to help when they feel alone,” says Agustin. “The call support keeps them out of emergency rooms where they might be exposed to more illness or longer waits which is not ideal. Instead, a call empowers patients to have some piece of mind in the comfort of their own home, it’s a wonderful thing.”

For more information about CareChart, please visit here.