Citations

AbstractObjectiveThis study assesses the attitudes and preferences of Chinese clinicians toward their involvement in shared decision making (SDM).MethodsFrom May 2014 to May 2015, 200 Chinese clinicians from two hospitals were enrolled to complete a survey on their attitude towards SDM. We conducted the survey via face‐to‐face interviews before and after an educational intervention on SDM among young Chinese clinicians. The clinicians were asked to give the extent of agreement to SDM. They also gave the extent of difficulty in using decision aids (DAs) during the SDM process. The variation in the range of responses to each question before and after the SDM intervention was recorded. The frequency of changed responses was analyzed by using JMP 6.0 software. Data were statistically analyzed using Chi‐square and Mann–Whitney U tests, as appropriate to the data type. Multiple logistic regressions were used to test for those factors significantly and independently associated with preference for an approach for each scenario.ResultsOf the 200 young Chinese clinicians sampled, 59.0% indicated a preference for SDM and a desire to participate in SDM before receiving education or seeing the DA, and this number increased to 69.0% after seeing the DA with the sample video of the SDM process on Statin Choice. However, 28.5% of the respondents still reported that, in their current practice, they make clinical decisions on behalf of their patients. The clinicians who denied a desire to use the DA stated that the main barriers to implement SDM or DA use in China are lack of time and knowledge of SDM.ConclusionsMost young Chinese clinicians want to participate in SDM. However, they state the main barriers to perform SDM are lack of experience and time. The educational intervention about SDM that exposes clinicians to DAs was found to increase their receptivity.

Abstract Background: The Treatment Burden Questionnaire (TBQ) is a self-reported measure of the effect of treatment workload on patient wellbeing. We sought to validate the TBQ in Spanish and use it to estimate the burden of treatment in Argentinian patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Methods: The TBQ was forward-backward translated into Spanish. Two focus groups and 25 semi-structured interviews focused on wording and possible item exclusion. Validation was performed in 2 steps. First, 162 patients across a range of MS severity completed the questionnaire. Confirmatory factor analysis assessed the dimensional structure of the TBQ. Construct validity was assessed by studying correlations with fatigue and quality of life (QoL). Then, in a second cohort of 171 patients, we evaluated the association between TBQ scores and patients’ sex, age, education level, employment status, type of MS, disease duration, comorbidities, EDSS, pharmacological treatment and medication adherence. Results: The questionnaire presented a 3-factor structure in which burden was related to pharmacological treatment; comprehensive health assistance; and psycho-social-economic context. Composite reliability was > 0.8 for all factors. TBQ showed positive correlation with fatigue (rs= 0.467, p=0.006), negative correlation with QoL (rs -0.446, p=0.009). For the second cohort, total TBQ score was 43 (SD 29). Lowest scores were observed on self-monitoring (0.53, SD 1.3) and highest for administrative load (4.2, SD 3.4). Inverse association was found between the TBQ score and medication adherence (r 0.243 p=0.001). TBQ scores also correlated with daily patient pill/injection requirements (r 0.175 p=0.020). Individuals receiving injectable treatment scored higher than patients on oral drugs (total TBQ 51 (SD 32) vs 39 (SD 27) p=0.002). Conclusions: The TBQ in Spanish is a reliable instrument and showed adequate correlation with QoL and adherence scales in MS patients. TBQ may benefit health resources allocation and provide tailor therapeutic interventions to construct a minimally disruptive care.

6596 Background: Several previous systematic reviews and meta-analyses have attempted to summarize toxicity of Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). However, very soon after each one of these reviews has been published, it became outdated. ICIs are currently used in 14 different cancers and data is rapidly evolving from new clinical trials. A living Systematic review, which is defined as a systematic review that is continually updated to incorporate relevant new evidence as it becomes available, is necessary in this situations. Therefore, we performed an updated systematic review and a meta-analysis which will serve as a foundation of a living Systematic review. Methods: MEDLINE, EMBASE and Cochrane were searched to identify phase 2 and 3 RCTs of PD-1/PD-L1 ICIs. Included studies compared either immunotherapy alone or combination with existing standard of care treatment and reported data for AE’s of interest. DerSimonian-Laird random effects Meta-Analysis was performed to derive pooled odds Ratio (OR) estimates for AE’s of interest. An infrastructure of a living systematic review is being developed and it includes monthly literature searches, cumulative meta-analysis and an online reporting platform. Results: We screened 6746 studies and 31 phase 3 and 2 phase 2 RCTs (n = 21,421) were included in the analysis. 22 RCTs used PD-1/PD-L1 ICIs as a single agent and 11 as a combination therapy. Selected toxicity estimates are summarized in a table. Conclusions: The meta-analysis updates previously published toxicity estimates and provides additional information about the risk of toxicities in single versus combination regimens. We have initiated the first living systematic review in oncology that will be continuously updated, incorporating relevant new evidence as it becomes available, and will provide accurate and up to date toxicity estimates to support clinical decision making. [Table: see text]

Abstract Background Little is known about how complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is discussed in cancer care across varied settings in the U.S. Methods In two practices affiliated with one academic medical center in southern California (SoCal), and one in the upper Midwest (UM), we audio-recorded patient-clinician interactions in medical oncology outpatient practices. We counted the frequency and duration of CAM-related conversations. We coded recordings using the Roter Interaction Analysis System. We used chi-square tests for bivariate analysis of categorical variables and generalized linear models for continuous variables to examine associations between dialogue characteristics, practice setting, and population characteristics with the occurrence of CAM discussion in each setting followed by multivariate models adjusting for clinician clustering. Results Sixty-one clinicians and 529 patients participated. Sixty-two of 529 (12%) interactions included CAM discussions, with significantly more observed in the SoCal university practice than in the other settings. Visits that included CAM were on average 6 minutes longer, with CAM content lasting an average of 78 seconds. In bivariate tests of association, conversations containing CAM included more psychosocial statements from both clinicians and patients, higher patient-centeredness, more positive patient and clinician affect, and greater patient engagement. In a multivariable model including significant bivariate terms, conversations containing CAM were independently associated with higher patient-centeredness, slightly longer visits, and being at the SoCal university site. Conclusion The frequency of CAM-related discussion in oncology varied substantially across sites. Visits that included CAM discussion were longer and more patient centered. Implications for Practice The Institute of Medicine and the American Society of Clinical Oncology have called for more open discussions of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). But little is known about the role population characteristics and care contexts may play in the frequency and nature of those discussions. The present data characterizing actual conversations in practice complements a much larger literature based on patient and clinician self-report about CAM disclosure and use. It was found that CAM discussions in academic oncology visits varied significantly by practice context, that the majority were initiated by the patient, and that they may occur more when visit time exists for lifestyle, self-care, and psychosocial concerns.

The health care industry is increasingly driven by the pursuit of value. The author of this Invited Commentary believes this value is nothing more than a business rebranding of efficiency with little connection to care. Overclocked clinicians, increasingly impaired by symptoms of burnout and too focused on documenting, cannot see patients in high definition. The author shows that treatment which is blind to patients’ contexts often overwhelms patients with medical errands, a topic absent from medical curricula. Care must not be the means by which health care satisfies its industrial mission but, rather, the end for which it mobilizes its means. In unhurried consultations, clinicians must appreciate and respond sensibly to patients’ problematic situation, and care for and about them. Medical training must cultivate future clinicians who value caring over caring for value. Medical educators and trainees at all levels must turn away from industrial health care, toward careful and kind care for all.