2:18 PM Abstract No. 145 - The use of visual information during UFE consultations: A descriptive study of the relationship between patients’ understandings and patient management

Abstract

Purpose The study explains a beneficial relationship between in-consultation patient education, patients' understandings of medical information, and patient management. It reveals how the use of visual information to stimulate patient's questions and comments during initial UFE consultations leads to patients developing recallable understandings of symptoms, embolization, the UFE procedure, and post-procedure precautions. Materials and Methods The research is a descriptive case series. Subjects are patients with symptomatic uterine fibroids, who contacted the practice for UFE consultation. Just prior to meeting with a radiologist, patients met with an allied health professional to view and discuss PowerPoint slides containing images and text. Video recordings captured the conversations and activities of the participants. In a recorded telephone discussion 3-5 days later, each patient explained the new medical information she recalled from the consultation. Discourse analysis of 13.7 hours of video and audio recordings compares the actual multimedia consultation activities with the recorded follow-up discussions. This reveals how the patterns of discussing the PowerPoint slides at the consultation affect patients' understanding and recall of medical information. Results The patients’ new understandings of fibroids and UFE served as reference points during the following discussion of their symptoms and MRI's with the radiologist. Patients’ understanding and recall of UFE information streamlined diagnostic discussions and reduced patients' post-consultation phone inquiries. Patients expressed satisfaction with the discussion of the PowerPoint in consultations, and said that it led to better understandings than viewing websites or reading pamphlets. Conclusion Data analysis reveals how the patterns of discussing the PowerPoint slides at the consultation affect patients' understanding and recall of medical information. By changing conventional patterns of clinical interaction, one-on-one discussion of visual information about UFE led to patients understanding and recalling medical information useful for choosing a treatment, developing expectations for reduction of symptoms, and adhering to post-procedure precautions.