Preparedness for surgery as a quality indicator.

80 Background: There has been growing attention to the informational priorities of patients in a shared decision making model of care. Patients report adequate information provision as an unmet need throughout their cancer experience. This is especially of concern when faced with complex decision making based on an understanding of medical information in an unfamiliar learning environment. This project is designed to identify informational priorities of patients related to diagnosis and treatment decisions.

METHODS: Patients' perceived preparedness for surgery was measured to determine whether information needs were addressed and illustrate overall satisfaction with the surgical experience. A self-administered questionnaire was used to measure satisfaction with information related to diagnosis, treatment and recovery.

RESULTS: An active role in decision making that considers patients' information needs increases satisfaction with treatment choices, preparedness for surgery and outcomes. Methods of providing information are often limited to written and verbal with written generally non-specific and not tailored to patients' informational needs. Providers are also unable to control for access to other information sources such as the internet.

CONCLUSIONS: A treatment plan developed through a shared decision making model should be evidence based including an assessment of the patient's informational priorities. A combination of written and verbal information may be optimal with the written building on the verbal and not introducing new information. Encouraging recording of meetings may be helpful when stress becomes a barrier to comprehending and retaining the information. The patient should also be provided with reliable websites to supplement this information. This results in greater patient satisfaction with the interaction and overall surgical experience.