Communication among oncology teams at an academic center.

Authors

null

Christopher Edward Jensen

University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA

Christopher Edward Jensen, Amy Iarrobino Laughlin, Daniel Jeffrey Landsburg

Organizations

University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, Lymphoma Program, Abramson Cancer Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA

Research Funding

Other

Background: Effective communication is essential to ensure optimal care for oncology patients admitted to the hospital and safe transitions between care settings. Methods: A questionnaire adapted from the Collaboration and Satisfaction about Care Decisions survey instrument addressing inpatient/outpatient communication was sent to nurses and physicians who cared for patients admitted to the housestaff oncology services at the University of Pennsylvania from 10/2016-2/2017. Questions addressed care plan formulation, communication, and satisfaction with medical decision making on a seven-point Likert scale. Contextual interviews with stakeholders were also conducted. Iterative adjusted rounding pilots were implemented in PDSA cycles including rounding checklist, multi-disciplinary rounds and a two-step paging process to inform nurses of teams’ rounding times. Results: For 66 respondents, the ranges of mean score for each question by provider type were: oncology nurses (4.07-4.29, n = 28), medicine interns (4.33-5.11, n = 9) and residents (4.00-4.83, n = 12), oncology fellows (5.00-7.00, n = 1), and oncology attendings inpatient (5.56-5.89, n = 9) and outpatient (4.71-5.57, n = 7). Given the lowest scores among nurses, rounding interventions targeting nursing attendance on rounds were trialed. Baseline data demonstrated nursing presence on rounds for 47.0% (95% CI: 37.2-56.8%) of patients. During a pilot of the two-step paging process, the rate increased to 63.1% (55.6-70.6%; p = 0.01 for two-sided Z test). A balancing metric of time per patient did not vary significantly before and during the pilot process. Contextual interviews surrounding interventions suggested several barriers to systematically restructuring provider rounds: time limitations for team rounds, frequent rotation of providers and variations in rounding styles as dictated by attending physicians. Conclusions: Satisfaction regarding the care of acutely ill oncology patients appears to negatively correlate with face-to-face time spent with patients in the inpatient setting. These findings provided the basis for a series of pilots of modified rounding models with a focus on integrating nursing staff into provider rounds, which have been difficult to sustain

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Abstract Details

Meeting

2018 ASCO Quality Care Symposium

Session Type

Poster Session

Session Title

Poster Session B: Projects Relating to Patient Experience; Projects Relating to Safety; Technology and Innovation in Quality of Care

Track

Projects Relating to Patient Experience,Projects Relating to Safety,Technology and Innovation in Quality of Care

Sub Track

Improving Communication and Impacting Behavior

Citation

J Clin Oncol 36, 2018 (suppl 30; abstr 166)

DOI

10.1200/JCO.2018.36.30_suppl.166

Abstract #

166

Poster Bd #

B8

Abstract Disclosures

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