PCN224 Incorporating a Patient-Reported Symptom Burden Tool in Cancer Care Settings

Abstract

Symptom management in oncology is critical to maximizing a positive patient experience. Since 2012, Cancer Treatment Centers of America, a consortium fellow of Vidence, LLC, has been surveying more than 60,000 patients regarding symptom severity during cancer care and integrating responses into the patient electronic record. This symptom tool incorporates the MD Anderson Symptom Inventory survey (19 items), and 8 additional items measuring aspects of life that may be impacted by cancer and treatment. Each item is scored from 0 to 10; 0 ='not present' and 10 ='as bad as you can imagine.' Scores that worsen by 2+ points are brought to the attention of and addressed by the treating oncology team. Surveys completed between 2016-2019 among 4 cancer types were included. Surveys from 2020 will be added to the analysis at time of presentation. Total surveys by tumor type and time between survey completion were assessed using the Vidence proprietary platform housing de-identified data. Rate of item completion, number of surveys per patient, and time between surveys were calculated. A total of 104,498 surveys were analyzed: 49,791 among 9,220 Breast; 18,925 among 3,582 Colorectal; 20,694 among 4,104 Lung; and 15,088 among 4,514 Prostate patients. Less than 1% of survey items had missing data. Median number of surveys completed among Breast, Colorectal, and Lung patients was 5.4; median number of surveys among Prostate patients was 3.5. Median time between first 6 surveys was 36-47 days in Breast, Colorectal, and Lung patients; median time was 47-58 days in Prostate patients. Gathering standardized patient-reported data can be a successful endeavor, enables providers to monitor and manage symptoms, aligns with patient-centric care, and may better maintain quality of life. Further research is needed to demonstrate the impact of symptom burden, management, and patient outcomes.