Problem areas identified by cancer patients with a positive distress screen in the medical clinic.

Abstract

63 Background: NCCN has been advocating for distress screening since the inaugural Distress Management Guidelines in 1999. ASCO’s Quality Oncology Practice Initiative incorporated an indicator of patients’ emotional well-being in 2009. The ACoS Commission on Cancer established mandatory distress screening as an accreditation requirement for cancer programs in January 2015. This latter requirement dramatically increased the number of cancer programs doing routine distress screening. We examined distress screening results at a comprehensive cancer center. Methods: Results of distress screening were reviewed in the following clinical areas: medical oncology, radiation oncology, gynecologic oncology, and otolaryngology. Distress screening was completed verbally as a part of the vitals assessment, using the NCCN Distress Thermometer and Problem List. Only patients with a positive screen ( < 6 on 0-10 rating scale) completed the Problem List, identifying relevant problem areas (Emotional, Family, Practical, Physical, Spiritual and Other). The MA or RN doing the distress screening entered the distress rating and the endorsed problem area(s) in the electronic medical record. Results: In the first 5 months of 2017, 11,155 screening results were entered into the medical record. The percent of positive screens ranged from 5.7 to 8.6%, with X = 6.6% of screens being positive for distress. The most common problem areas were Emotional, endorsed with X = 72.5% of positive screens (range = 33.5-96.6%); Physical, endorsed with X = 67.52% of positive screens (range = 42.8-86.4%); and Practical, endorsed with X = 43.1% of positive screens (range = 20.1-59.9%). Conclusions: While some cancer centers use a psychologically-focused screening method (e.g. PHQ-9, BDI), distress is a bio-psychosocial construct, which requires a screening method that includes multiple domains. Furthermore, the triage related to distress screening may best be accomplished by the cancer team at the clinic visit, so that physical problems can be further assessed and addressed during the visit. The medical team can also make referrals to social work or psychological services to address related problem areas, when identified by patients.