Engaging patients with their self-reported symptom outcomes trended data.

69 Background: Cancer Treatment Centers of America, Inc. (CTCA) is a national network of hospitals that specialize in the treatment of patients fighting complex or advanced-stage cancer. The Symptom Inventory Tool (SIT) is an assessment tool that captures the patients' perceived symptom burden for real-time clinical intervention. Patients take a baseline SIT assessment at new patient intake and are eligible to take the SIT every 21 days. The SIT is comprised of the M.D. Anderson Symptom Inventory tool, a validated assessment instrument, along with additional questions and a free text box that were created by CTCA. The SIT became an integral part of patient care at CTCA beginning in 2012. Recognizing the value of the SIT data in real time patient intervention, a project was undertaken to engage the patient with his/her results and facilitate dialogue with his/her care team.

METHODS: Upon completing the SIT, patients were provided with their Symptoms-At-a-Glance (SAG) report, which is a graphical representation of trended outcomes of their SIT data, along with education on how to interpret the document. Patients were encouraged to review the SAG with their care team as a communication facilitation tool promoting open dialog on those symptoms identified as the most severe and or frequent. Pre and post evaluations of the process were completed via a brief questionnaire for patients and staff to evaluate efficacy of the exchange.

RESULTS: A total of 272 patients completed the SIT during the initial 30 days. 80.5% of patients utilized the SAG report during their Medical Oncology appointments and/or took their report with them for subsequent reference. Utilization of the SAG report by interdisciplinary teams for patient intervention showed an increase of 103%. Patients responded favorably to the project and reported that the SAG is a valuable tool which will be shared with their primary care physician and used to update family members.

CONCLUSIONS: The project was successful in creating improved integration of the SIT outcomes and driving more focused and complete discussions between patients and their providers on a wide spectrum of quality of life issues.