BOSTON (PRWEB) October 21, 2019
Concerto HealthAI, the leading Real-World Data and AI Enterprise Technology company for precision oncology, announced today that it will present research findings which show how utilizing an electronic Patient Reported Outcomes (ePRO) system can be a highly effective and superior way for oncology practices to identify unmet needs of patients and link them to resources for developing Advance Directives (ADs), which are a guide to patients’ wishes for medical decisions during end-of-life care. The data will be presented during a poster presentation at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2019 Supportive Care in Oncology Symposium being held October 25-26 in San Francisco, California.
ASCO recommends that healthcare providers encourage early advance care planning with their patients. However, many cancer patients do not have advance directives, such as a living will or a durable power of attorney. A potential reason for low rates is inadequate communication between the provider and patient. The value of having advance directives is to allow patients to make decisions about their health and quality of life known in the event they are unable to express them.
Researchers used the Patient Care Monitor™ (PCM), Concerto HealthAI’s proprietary, web-based ePRO system that links PRO data to electronic medical record data in real-time, to survey patients as part of routine clinical care at an initial visit to a community-based oncology practice.
“Utilizing patient reported outcomes has become a practical tool to assess the impact of treatment on patient quality of life and understand the factors that can improve communication between providers and patients,” said Joanne Buzaglo, PhD and Executive Director of PRO Solutions at Concerto HealthAI. “This study demonstrates that using an ePRO system can be a non-threatening way to identify potential questions patients have and provide them with useful information about developing advance directives.”
Overall, of the 4,573 patients that completed the PCM survey including the advance directives module, one quarter (26%) reported having an advance directive at the time of the initial visit to the oncology clinic, specifically 10% indicated having a Living Will and 6% a durable power of attorney. The remaining three-fourths (75%) indicated either not having an advance directive (64%) or not knowing if they had an advance directive (10%). Patients with advance directives were more likely to be older (M=68 v. 56 years) and White (79% v. 21% Black). Of the patients without advance directives, 11% requested more information on them and were more likely to be older (M-59 v. 55 years), female (66% v. 34%), Black (55% v. 45% White) and non-married/non-partnered (55% v. 45%).
“The majority of patients do not have ADs at the time of an initial visit to a community-based oncology practice,” said Jeff Elton, CEO of Concerto HealthAI. “This systematic and advanced approach to capturing data can address the gap in provider-patient communication in order to create the best possible care and end-of-life plan together.”
Details of the presentation are below. The full abstract can be accessed on the ASCO 2019 Supportive Care in Oncology Symposium website.
Abstract Number and Title: #5, “Capturing patient advance directives status in a community oncology practice using an electronic patient-reported outcomes (ePRO) system”
Poster Board Number: B2
Session Information: Poster Session A
Session Date and Time: Friday, October 25, 11:45 AM - 1:15 PM; then again from 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM PDT
About Concerto HealthAI
Concerto HealthAI is a technology leader in Definitive Real-world Data (RWD) and AI solutions for precision oncology. Our mission is to bring together unique data assets, leading AI-based technologies, and the world’s top outcomes research and data science talent. Our focus is on revolutionizing clinical and outcomes research to accelerate the insights benefitting patient treatment. Concerto HealthAI is a SymphonyAI company. eurekaHealth is a trademark of Concerto HealthAI. For more information, visit us at http://www.concertohealthai.com.