Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA
Valerie Pracilio Csik , Adam F Binder , Nathan Handley , Michael Li , Megan Croyle , Lauren Waldman , Brooke Worster
Background: Acute care utilization (ACU), encompassing both emergency department visits and hospitalizations, is common in patients with cancer, with nearly three quarters of patients with advanced disease hospitalized at least once in the year after their diagnosis. From a population health perspective, focusing on the highest risk patients is likely to identify the top 5% while the next 30% can be considered rising risk and are likely to need care management support. Many risk scoring systems have been developed, but few have demonstrated effective integration in clinical practice. We sought to evaluate if a risk assessment tool alone was adequate to determine an appropriate patient outreach strategy that results in reduced ACU. Methods: We utilized the REDUCE score (Reducing ED Utilization in the Cancer Experience - see 2020 ASCO Quality Abstract 208) to develop an intervention conducted in two phases. Phase I included a chart review and targeted outreach to high risk patients identified by REDUCE by a nurse navigator. Outreach resulted in communication of patient needs to the care team. Phase II involved initial identification by REDUCE followed by further screening assessment with a distress screen. Those who were high risk and had high distress (score ≥4) were discussed by an interdisciplinary team (supportive medicine physicians, social work, nurses, nurse practitioners) to determine an intervention. Results: Of the patients in phase I (N = 138), 26.1% had ACU afterward, while in phase II (N = 169) 7.1% had ACU. The average distress score among all patients in the phase II group was 6.0 and the REDUCE score was 2.87, while the subset of patients who experienced ACU had an average distress score of 6.4 and a REDUCE score of 3.22. These findings indicate that there is a directional correlation between REDUCE score and distress screening results. Conclusions: The REDUCE score may be a valuable tool to assist in identifying patients at risk for ACU, but the significantly less ACU in phase II compared to phase I suggests that the risk score combined with a biopsychosocial screening, such as distress as required by the Commission on Cancer, may prove more valuable than the risk score alone. To identify the most impactful intervention, and to fully understand the implications of a patient’s specific REDUCE score within the high risk category, additional assessment would be beneficial. These preliminary results highlight that directionally correlated measures obtained from a biopsychosocial screening in combination with a risk score gives a more complete picture of patient’s overall risk of ACU.
Disclaimer
This material on this page is ©2024 American Society of Clinical Oncology, all rights reserved. Licensing available upon request. For more information, please contact licensing@asco.org
Abstract Disclosures
2021 ASCO Quality Care Symposium
First Author: Valerie Pracilio Csik
2023 ASCO Quality Care Symposium
First Author: Mark Liu
2022 ASCO Quality Care Symposium
First Author: Divya Myadam Gupta
2016 Cancer Survivorship Symposium
First Author: Magdolna Solti