A. Onuma2, E. Palmer2, J. Chakedis2, B. Wiemann2, M. Johnson2, K. Merath2, O. Akgul2, J. Cloyd2, T. Pawlik2 2The Ohio State University Medical Center,Department of Surgery,Columbus, OHIO, USA
Introduction: Advances in communication technology have enabled new methods of delivering test results to patients. Nevertheless, patient preferences regarding the manner in which surveillance test results are shared with cancer patients during the survivorship period have not been previously assessed.
Methods: A single institutional, cross-sectional analysis of the preferences of adult cancer survivors regarding the means (secure digital communication vs. phone-call or office visit) to receive surveillance test results was undertaken.
Results:Among 241 respondents over a 6-month period, the average age was 68.4±13.6 years and 61.8% were female. The most common malignancies included breast (22.8%), melanoma/sarcoma (29.5%), gastrointestinal (22.0%) and thyroid (25.7%). Patients were surveyed on average 33.6±31.5 months following surgery. While patients expressed a relative preference to receive normal surveillance results via MyChart/Secure-email, the majority of patients preferred that abnormal imaging (56.2%) or blood (50.4%) results be communicated only by in-office appointments regardless of age or cancer type. Patients with a college degree were more likely to prefer receiving normal imaging (52.7% vs 38.1%, p=0.029) and blood (69.6% vs 48.9%, p=0.002) results electronically than those without a degree. Patients < 65 more often preferred to receive normal blood surveillance results electronically versus patients ≥65 years old (50.0% vs. 32.9%, p=.012). Preference also varied according to malignancy type (Figure1).
Conclusion: While many patients preferred to receive “normal” surveillance results via MyChart/secure-email, the majority preferred receiving abnormal results via direct conversation with their provider. Shifting routine communication of normal surveillance results to technology-based applications may improve patient satisfaction and decrease health care system costs.
