Optimising community service use with ePRO-based screening during routine Radiation Oncology care
A Northern Sydney Cancer Centre and Canteen Collaboration
Presented at Sydney Cancer Conference 2021
Dr Thilo Schuler, Ms Claire King, A/Prof Michael Back, Ms Tamara Doria, Ms Paula Macleod, A/Prof Pandora Patterson, Prof Thomas Eade
Background
Community services in cancer care are:
👍 important, but
😞 underutilised
Reasons include:
⏱️ Time constraints of clinical reality
📉 Quickly waning effect of traditional referrer info campaigns
🤷 Insufficient knowledge → no/unconvincing recommendation to patient
Aim & Methods
Systematic and sustainable referral to Quitline and Canteen using an Implementation Science approach:
- Screening via routine electronic patient-reported outcomes (ePRO) survey for all new patients
- Added two extra questions regarding smoking status and age of children
- Co-designed information and referral approach
- Key role: Patient Care Radiation Therapist (PCRT) providing practical and emotional support incl service referral offer
- Evaluation: Pre/Post analysis of referral rates and clinical staff survey
Image Credit: WHO
Results
**6 months ePRO screening** 📱
- Aug 2020 - Jan 2021
- Total 568 new patients seen
- Screening ePRO sent to 418 patients (74% coverage)
- 329 (87%) responded
**Quitline referral** 🚭
- 24 (6.6%) smokers
- 9 (38%) accepted referral
- **Over 100% increase** vs whole NSLHD rates in 2018
**Canteen referral** 👦🏽👧🏻
- 85 (23%) of cancer patients had children aged 0-25yrs
- 18 (21%) accepted referral
- Annualised **350% increase** vs 2018
**Clinical staff survey** 👂
- Response rate 34 of 77 (44%)
- 100% → overall patient benefit
- 97% → emotional and/or professional comfort for clinicians
Conclusion & Future
Successful routine care translation 💪 with benefits for patients 🤒 and clinicians⚕️
- Systematic ePRO-based screening
- Co-design strategy including PCRT training
- Plans to apply this model more broadly (other services incl internal pathways)