Provider-To-Provider Communication About Care Transitions: Considering Different Health Technology Tools.

ABSTRACT: Transitions in patient care require exchanges of information between providers. This period of transition presents a range of challenges, and inadequate transitions can have serious consequences for patients. Our objective was to understand providers' perspectives about patient care transitions, especially around communication between providers and the role of health information technology in provider-to-provider communication. Semi-structured interviews were conducted. Deductive-dominant thematic analysis was used to allow categorization of data based on general themes derived from the interview guides, as well as identification of emergent themes. We characterized three main themes involving providers' perspectives about care transitions. Themes included communication challenges, communication preferences, and suggestions for improving the care transition processes. With respect to challenges around communication, providers highlighted four main concerns. These concerns included the existence of too many methods of communication, high volume of communication, challenges with involvement of multiple providers delivering longitudinal care, and difficulty communicating with providers outside the health system. Providers noted opportunities to improve transitions including improving standardization, enhancing the specialty to primary care transition process, and increasing communication back to the referring provider. Implementation and evaluation of these improvements could be considered by health systems to enhance care transitions.

The role of health care organizations in patient engagement: Mechanisms to support a strong relationship between patients and clinicians.

BACKGROUND: Patient engagement (PE) is critical to improving patient experience and outcomes, as well as clinician work life and lowering health care costs, yet health care organizations (HCOs) have limited guidance about how to support PE. The engagement capacity framework considers the context of engagement and examines precursors to engagement, including patients' self-efficacy, resources, willingness, and capabilities. PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to explore clinician and patient perspectives related to mechanisms through with the HCOs can facilitate PE through the lens of the engagement capacity framework. METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: We administered an online open-ended survey to clinicians and patient advisors across the United States, including questions focused on the influences of, barriers to, and skills and tools required for PE. A common theme emerged focusing on the role of HCOs in facilitating engagement. Our analysis examined all responses tagged with the "health care system" code. RESULTS: Over 750 clinicians and patient advisors responded to our survey. Respondents identified offering advice and support for patients to manage their care (self-efficacy), providing tools to facilitate communication (resources), working to encourage connection with patients (willingness), and training for HCO employees in cultural competency and communication skills (capabilities) as important functions of HCOs related to engagement. CONCLUSION: HCOs play an important role in supporting a strong partnership between the patient and clinicians. Our study identifies important mechanisms through which HCOs can fulfill this role. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: HCO leadership and administration can help establish the culture of care provided. Policies and initiatives that provide appropriate communication tools and promote culturally competent care can increase engagement.

Exploring perspectives on changing opioid prescribing practices: A qualitative study of community stakeholders in the HEALing Communities Study.

BACKGROUND: Community-based perspectives are needed to more broadly inform policy-makers, public health practitioners, prescribers, and pharmacists about community-led and broader efforts to reduce opioid overprescribing, and ultimately reduce prescription opioid use disorder, overdoses and fatalities. The aim of this study is to explore community-based perspectives on efforts to change opioid prescribing practices in their communities. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 388 community stakeholders across four states (Kentucky, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio) from November 2019 to January 2020 about community approaches and goals of community-led responses to the opioid crisis. Data analysis combined deductive and inductive approaches to identify themes and sub-themes related to improving opioid prescribing practices. RESULTS: Three major themes and different subthemes were characterized: (1) acknowledging progress (i.e., healthcare providers being part of the solution, provider education, and prescription drug monitoring programs); (2) emergent challenges (i.e., physician nonadherence with safer opioid prescribing guidelines, difficulty identifying appropriate use of opioids, and concerns about accelerating the progression from opioid misuse to drug abuse); and (3) opportunities for change (i.e., educating patients about safer use and proper disposal of opioids, expanding prescriber and pharmacist education, changing unrealistic expectations around eliminating pain, expanding and increasing insurance coverage for alternative treatment options). CONCLUSIONS: Community stakeholders appeared to support specific opportunities to reduce prescription opioid misuse and improve safer prescribing. The opportunities included culture change around pain expectations, awareness of safe disposal, additional provider education, and increased coverage and acceptability of non-opioid treatments.

Disparities in Stage-Specific Guideline-Concordant Cancer-Directed Treatment for Patients with Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma.

BACKGROUND: The utilization of cancer-directed treatment for patients with all stages of pancreatic cancer in the USA is unknown. This study sought to examine national practice patterns and identify patient, hospital, regional, and other factors associated with disparities in the use of guideline-concordant cancer-directed therapy. METHODS: Patients diagnosed with PDAC between 2004 and 2015 were queried from the National Cancer Data Base. Standard of care cancer-directed treatment was defined as surgical resection plus chemotherapy or chemoradiation for patients with stage 1 and 2 disease, chemotherapy for patients with metastatic disease (stage 4), and chemotherapy with or without surgery or chemoradiation for patients with locally advanced stage 3 disease. RESULTS: A total of 336,629 patients with stage 1 (n = 38,443, 11.4%), stage 2 (n = 93,923, 27.9%), stage 3 (n = 37,492, 11.1%), or stage 4 metastatic (n = 166,771, 49.5%) disease were identified. Adherence with stage-specific standard of care treatment occurred in only 45.3% (n = 152,560) of patients among the entire cohort and varied by stage of disease (stage 1: 14.6% vs. stage 2: 39.9% vs. stage 3: 67.6%, vs. stage 4: 50.9%). Older age (OR 0.95, 95%CI 0.94-0.95; p < 0.001), female sex (OR 0.94, 95%CI 0.943-0.97; p < 0.001), African Americans (OR 0.89, 95%CI 0.87-0.91; P < 0.001), and increasing comorbidity burden (Charlson-Deyo score ≥3: OR 0.52, 95%CI 0.50-0.55; P < 0.001) were associated with a lower likelihood of receiving stage-specific standard of care treatment. Conversely, treatment at a high-volume center (quartile 4: OR: 1.13, 95%CI 1.10-1.16; P < 0.001) and higher education level (OR 1.32, 95%CI 1.28-1.36; p < 0.001) was associated with higher likelihood of receiving stage-specific standard of care treatment. Patients who received standard of care treatment had a 47% lower risk of death compared with patients who did not receive standard of care treatment (HR 0.53, 95%CI 0.52-0.53; P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Pancreatic adenocarcinoma is a complex disease requiring a multi-disciplinary approach for optimal outcomes. Receipt of stage-specific standard of care treatment for PDAC is associated with improved long-term oncological outcomes, but is only achieved in less than half of patients. Further studies are needed to evaluate interventions to address these treatment disparities for patients with PDAC.

Encounter Decision Aids Can Prompt Breast Cancer Surgery Cost Discussions: Analysis of Recorded Consultations.

Background. Patients frequently worry about care costs, but clinicians seldom address the topic. Cost information is not typically included in patient decision aids (DAs). We examined whether including cost information in an encounter DA, with clinician training, influenced cost conversations. Method. As part of a larger trial, 14 surgeons from 4 cancer centers were randomized to 1 of 3 interventions: (1) Picture Option Grid DA that included a prompt to discuss relative treatment costs, hereafter called "cost prompt group"; (2) a text-only Option Grid DA that did not include cost information; (3) usual care. Groups 2 and 3 hereafter are referred to as "non-cost prompt groups." Adult (18+) female patients, with stages I-IIIA breast cancer, eligible for both breast-conserving surgery and mastectomy were included. We gave surgeons feedback about adherence to the study protocol at 3, 6, and 12-months. We adapted a checklist to code the content of the audio-recorded clinical encounters. Results. 424/622 (68%) patients consented; 311 (73%) were eligible and successfully recorded (143 in the cost prompt group, 168 in the non-cost prompt groups). Costs were discussed in 132/311 (42.4%) encounters, and occurred more often in the cost prompt versus non-cost prompt groups (66.7% versus 33.3%; p<.001). Surgeons initiated the cost discussion in 86.4% of encounters in the cost prompt group vs. 34.1% in the non-cost prompt groups (p<0.001). In the non-cost prompt groups, insurance or employment questions led patients to ask about costs. Cost discussions lasted about 34 seconds when present and had sparse comparative details. Conclusions. Encounter DAs containing cost information trigger cost discussions. Additional support should help clinicians improve the quality of cost discussions and address financial distress.