INNV-13. UNDERSTANDING FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE THE DECISION OF ACCEPTING TUMOR TREATING FIELDS (TTF) THERAPY

BACKGROUND Tumor Treating Fields (TTF) Therapy is an FDA-approved therapy in the first line and recurrent setting for glioblastoma. Despite Phase 3 evidence showing improved survival, it is not uniformly utilized despite its availability. This qualitative prospective study interviewed glioblastoma patients to better understand key driving factors for decision making. METHODS Adult glioblastoma patients who were offered TTF and who signed IRB approved consent were included. Patients participated in a one-time recorded interview with the researchers from the Northwestern University Department of Medical Social Sciences and were asked about factors shaping their decision to use or not use TTF. RESULTS 40 patients were enrolled with a mean age of 53 years, 92.5% were white and 60% were male. Of the 33 (82.5%) participants who accepted TTF, 23 (69.7%) reported their physician recommending TTF, 8 (24.2%) reported physician neutrality toward TTF, and 2 (6.1%) said their physician advised against TTF. Among the 7 (17.5%) participants who did not choose TTF, 4 (57.1%) reported physician neutrality, 2 (28.6%) reported that their physician advised against TTF, and 1 (14.3%) reported that their physician recommended TTF. Participants who decided against TTF stated that head shaving, appearing sick, and inconvenience of wearing/carrying the device most influenced their decision. For those choosing to use TTF, the most influential factors were extending life and following their doctor's opinion; other factors included level of familial support and the clinical evidence supporting TTF. DISCUSSION This clinical study was a collaboration with the Medical Social Sciences team to better understand the key factors that drive patient decision making with TTF. Findings suggest that physician support and positive Phase 3 results are among the key decision-making factors. Properly understanding the path to patients’ decision making is crucial in optimizing use of TTF and other therapeutic decisions for glioblastoma patients.

The Importance of Telemedicine in a Post COVID World

Telemedicine has found immense popularity, especially in a COVID-19 affected world. Its application shall improve the quality of health care provided to patients and help in time management as it help facilitates optimized referral systems which are based on the immediate/follow up needs of the patient, decision-making, reduction in patient’s waiting time as well as consultation time. This review is an effort to shed light on the main practical applications of teledentistry for emphasizing potentialities, problems, and applications of this relatively new branch in medicine. The paper also highlighted highlight the various aspects of telemedicine in relation to the healthcare sector, its advantages/disadvantages in a post COVID-19 world.

Clinician-Created Educational Video Resources for Shared Decision-making in the Outpatient Management of Chronic Disease: Development and Evaluation Study

Background The provision of reliable patient education is essential for shared decision-making. However, many clinicians are reluctant to use commonly available resources, as they are generic and may contain information of insufficient quality. Clinician-created educational materials, accessed during the waiting time prior to consultation, can potentially benefit clinical practice if developed in a time- and resource-efficient manner. Objective The aim of this study is to evaluate the utility of educational videos in improving patient decision-making, as well as consultation satisfaction and anxiety, within the outpatient management of chronic disease (represented by atrial fibrillation). The approach involves clinicians creating audiovisual patient education in a time- and resource-efficient manner for opportunistic delivery, using mobile smart devices with internet access, during waiting time before consultation. Methods We implemented this educational approach in outpatient clinics and collected patient responses through an electronic survey. The educational module was a web-based combination of 4 short videos viewed sequentially, followed by a patient experience survey using 5-point Likert scales and 0-100 visual analogue scales. The clinician developed the audiovisual module over a 2-day span while performing usual clinical tasks, using existing hardware and software resources (laptop and tablet). Patients presenting for the outpatient management of atrial fibrillation accessed the module during waiting time before their consultation using either a URL or Quick Response (QR) code on a provided tablet or their own mobile smart devices. The primary outcome of the study was the module’s utility in improving patient decision-making ability, as measured on a 0-100 visual analogue scale. Secondary outcomes were the level of patient satisfaction with the videos, measured with 5-point Likert scales, in addition to the patient’s value for clinician narration and the module’s utility in improving anxiety and long-term treatment adherence, as represented on 0-100 visual analogue scales. Results This study enrolled 116 patients presenting for the outpatient management of atrial fibrillation. The proportion of responses that were “very satisfied” with the educational video content across the 4 videos ranged from 93% (86/92) to 96.3% (104/108) and this was between 98% (90/92) and 99.1% (107/108) for “satisfied” or “very satisfied.” There were no reports of dissatisfaction for the first 3 videos, and only 1% (1/92) of responders reported dissatisfaction for the fourth video. The median reported scores (on 0-100 visual analogue scales) were 90 (IQR 82.5-97) for improving patient decision-making, 89 (IQR 81-95) for reducing consultation anxiety, 90 (IQR 81-97) for improving treatment adherence, and 82 (IQR 70-90) for the clinician’s narration adding benefit to the patient experience. Conclusions Clinician-created educational videos for chronic disease management resulted in improvements in patient-reported informed decision-making ability and expected long-term treatment adherence, as well as anxiety reduction. This form of patient education was also time efficient as it used the sunk time cost of waiting time to provide education without requiring additional clinician input.

An Epistemic Network Analysis of Patient Decision-Making Regarding Choice of Therapy

Background: Patient decision-making concerning therapy choice has been thoroughly investigated in the Push/Pull framework: factors pushing the patient away from biomedicine and those pulling them towards Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM). Others have examined lay etiology as a potential factor in CAM use.Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews with patients employing only biomedicine and those using CAM. The coded and segmented data was quantified and modelled using epistemic network analysis (ENA) to explore what effects push/pull factors and etiology had on the decision-making processes.Results: There was a marked difference between our two subsamples concerning push factors: although both groups exhibited similar scaled relative code frequencies, the CAM network models were more interconnected, indicating that CAM users expressed dissatisfaction with a wider array of phenomena. Among pull factors, a preference for natural therapies accounted for differences between groups but did not retain a strong connection to rejecting conventional treatments. Etiology, particularly adherence to vitalism, was also a critical factor in both choice of therapy and rejection of biomedical treatments.Conclusions: Push factors had a crucial influence on decision-making, not as individual entities, but as a constellation of experienced phenomena. Belief in vitalism affects the patient’s explanatory model of illness, changing the interpretation of other etiological factors and illness itself. Scrutinizing individual push/pull factors or etiology does not explain therapeutic choices; it is from their interplay that decisions arise. Our unified, qualitative-and-quantitative methodological approach offers novel insight into decision-making by displaying connections among codes within patient narratives.

Geographic location and other determinants of patient decision-making to decline chemotherapy in advanced breast cancer.

111 Background: Much work has been done to explore how social determinants of health are associated with disparities in the use of chemotherapy for breast cancer. We used a large national registry to explore whether patient decision-making to accept or decline chemotherapy varies geographically across the United States. Methods: This analysis used the National Cancer Database to study decision-making in patients diagnosed with advanced breast cancer (AJCC clinical stage III-IV) between 2004-2017. We identified patients recommended chemotherapy by their physicians, but who declined treatment. We performed multivariate logistic regression modeling to explore variables associated with the decision to decline chemotherapy. Results: A total of n = 167,647 patients with stage III-IV breast cancer were included. After controlling for age, race, ethnicity, Charlson/Deyo comorbidity scoring, receptor status, histology, grade, patient education, insurance status, and facility type, geographic region was found to be significantly associated with the decision to either accept or decline chemotherapy (p < 0.001). Patients in the New England area (i.e. CT, MA, ME, NH, RI and VT) exhibited the highest rate of refusal of chemotherapy (9.3%). In contrast, patients in East South Central states (i.e. AL, KY, MS, TN) were the least likely to decline chemotherapy at 5.5% rate of refusal (OR 0.55, 95% CI: 0.47-0.66, p < 0.001). Rates of refusal were lower for patients with TNBC at 4.1% versus 7.7% in those with HR+/HER2 tumors. Patients aged > 70 had increased odds of declining chemotherapy (OR 9.30, 95% CI: 8.17-10.59, p < 0.001) compared to patients < 50. Race and level of education were not associated with patient decision-making in this cohort, however, Hispanics had lower odds (OR 0.70, 95% CI: 0.60-0.82, p < 0.001) of refusing chemotherapy as compared to Non-Hispanics. Patients with higher comorbidity were also more likely to decline chemotherapy (p < 0.05). As compared to the uninsured, Medicare-insured (OR 0.69, 95% CI: 0.60-0.80, p < 0.001), Medicaid-insured (OR 0.65, 95% CI: 0.56-0.76, p < 0.001) and privately-insured patients (OR 0.39, 95% CI: 0.33-0.44, p < 0.001) were less likely to decline chemotherapy. Lastly, patients treated at academic institutions (OR 0.90, 95% CI: 0.81-0.99, p = 0.029) were less likely to decline chemotherapy compared to those in community cancer programs. Conclusions: This study showed that after adjusting for known social determinants of health, there was a significant difference in rates of refusal of recommended chemotherapy by geographic region, with highest refusal rates in New England states. Of interest, Hispanic ethnicity was associated with lower likelihood to decline chemotherapy, while uninsured status was associated with increased refusal. Researching this geographic differential further will help improve efficacy of care delivery in patients with cancer.

Radiation Oncology's Place in Payment Reform: ASTRO Advocates for a Place at the Table

In its current form, the Radiation Oncology Model (RO Model) prioritizes payment cuts over true value-based payment transformation. With significant modifications to the payment methodology, the reporting requirements, and recognition of the unique challenges faced by disadvantaged populations, the RO Model can protect patient access to care, preserve the physician-patient decision-making process, and ensure the delivery of high-quality, efficient radiation therapy treatment. The American Society for Radiation Oncology has spent several years advocating for a meaningful alternative payment model for radiation oncology and continues to push The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation for changes to the RO Model that will recognize these key outcomes.

Survey of the Use of Physician Review Websites in Patients Under Orthopaedic Care (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Physician-rating websites (PRWs) are rising in popularity as the healthcare sector focuses more on patient-centered value-based care delivery. Recent studies have reported that the vast majority of orthopaedic surgeons across subspecialties already have at least one rating or review on at least one PRW. However, there are few studies identifying patient-facing factors related to the knowledge and use of PRWs and the level of influence PRWs may have on patient decision-making. OBJECTIVE The objectives of this study are: 1) to determine the prevalence of PRW use by patients seeking orthopaedic care, 2) to identify the influence PRWs have on patient decision-making, and 3) to identify factors associated with knowledge and use of PRWs. METHODS Survey administration was performed at three outpatient orthopaedic multi-specialty. Patients were asked about demographic characteristics including age, sex, occupation, and education, as well as their familiarity with PRWs, use of PRWs, and how PRWs have influenced their decision to see their surgeon. RESULTS A total of 350 patients completed the survey. The majority were women (59%) and Caucasian (77%), and the mean age of the population was 58 years old (range 15-91). 155 patients (44%) reported being somewhat (31%) or very (13%) familiar with PRWs, and 195 patients (56%) reported no familiarity with PRWs. Patients most familiar with PRWs were between 45-64 years old (p = 0.02), women (p < 0.01), had graduate/professional degrees (p < 0.01), and seen by adult reconstruction surgeons (p = 0.02). Seventy-two percent of patients utilizing PRWs reported that PRWs had an impact on their decision to see their chosen provider, with 93% noting ratings and reviews as the most valuable information. CONCLUSIONS Many patients in this study were not familiar with PRWs and did not utilize PRWs prior to their visit. However, most patients who did consult PRWs reported that the ratings and reviews did have an impact in their decision to choose their orthopaedic specialist. As PRW use increases, factors that influence patient decision-making are important to understand for surgeons and administrators.

Views of Psychologists About Their Role in Hastened Death

Hastened death practices are legal in several countries. Psychologists are increasingly taking a more active role in end-of-life issues, but the role of psychologists in requests to hasten death is not established. This study aims to contribute guidance for psychological practice in the context of requests to hasten death. We conducted a cross-sectional and cross-cultural study with Psychologists from Portugal and Luxembourg who answer closed and open questions to provide views about their role in hastened death. Psychological assessment, psychological support to patient and family, the exploration of patient decision-making and reorientation of patients were viewed as roles for psychologists. However, these roles may differ depending whether the patient has a terminal or non-terminal illness.