Are Patients Prepared for Initial Cancer Center Appointments and Treatment?

Background: Cancer is an extremely overwhelming diagnosis with multiple appointments and care team providers. Patients need to be prepared and know what to expect prior to consult and treatment. Patients who are not prepared can run into barriers that can make it more difficult to navigate them through the cancer care continuum. Augusta Health Cancer Center felt that not all patients were prepared for appointments or aware of resources. A project was developed to assess patients’ understanding and then research methods to use for improving this gap in care.

Objective: The objective is to describe a research project in which patients are provided with a survey to assess their experience at the Cancer Center. Survey results will be used to develop a plan to improve patients’ preparedness for appointments and treatment.

Methods: The nurse navigators developed a basic patient survey assessing patient’s knowledge on initial visit, treatment plan, chemotherapy education, resources, and who to call for questions. The survey consisted of 7 questions and was given to 50 patients over a 2-month period. Survey results were then analyzed to determine areas in need of improvement.

Results: The top 3 areas of concern resulting from the survey were: (1) 28% of patients did not feel prepared for the initial visit to the cancer center, (2) 16% of patients were not aware of their treatment plan, and (3) 10% of patients were not aware of resources available to them at the Cancer Center. A task force of multidisciplinary team members from the Cancer Center was developed to focus on the 3 main issues resulting from the survey.

Conclusion: The task force reviewed current education processes and decided the best course of action to address gaps in survey responses was to develop a welcome packet for all new patients at the Cancer Center. The welcome packet includes information about preparing for visits to the Cancer Center, photos of support staff, a list of all resources, phone numbers to call, and other relevant information. The welcome packet was developed to not only increase patient satisfaction but to improve patient knowledge and preparedness for their cancer journey.

Sources

• Duke Cancer Institute. Welcome to the Duke Cancer Institute. Integrating leading-edge research with world-class care. https://tischbraintumorcenter.duke.edu/sites/default/files/resource_guide_10.15.pdf.
• Institute of Medicine. Delivering High-Quality Cancer Care: Charting a New Course for a System in Crisis. Patient-Centered Communication and Shared Decision Making. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press; 2013.