CANCERCARE has announced the publication of a new white paper highlighting perspectives from oncology providers on the importance and utility of including patient priorities in treatment decisions. “Decision Making at the Point of Care: Voices of Oncology Providers” was developed as part of CancerCare’s Patient Values Initiative (PVI), a multipronged effort aimed at reframing the national health-care policy framework to ensure that patient engagement in treatment decision-making becomes the true standard of care.
This newly published white paper builds on the findings from the first PVI white paper, “Patient Values Initiative: The Many Voices of Value,” published in 2017. The first white paper provided findings from focus group interviews with oncology social workers and patients, highlighting the importance and value of including what’s important to patients in their treatment plans.
New Round of Interviews
The latest white paper includes information from in-depth interviews with 15 oncology providers including physicians, advanced practice nurses, practice managers, and health information technology experts. Focused on the provider perspective, it demonstrates that although many oncology providers have a desire to learn more about their patients, both personally and clinically, there are significant barriers to ensuring that patient priorities are part of treatment decision-making. These barriers include the absence of formal procedures to capture personal information and share it among care team members, the challenges of interoperability between data sources, and the lack of electronic medical records fields that prompt the collection of patients’ quality-of -life priorities.
Ellen Miller Sonet
“Stakeholders across the oncology community are becoming increasingly aware that incorporating patient priorities into treatment decisions is a key element of ‘value’ to the patient. Through the Patient Values Initiative, CancerCare will continue to work with patients, physicians, caregivers, industry experts, and policymakers on innovative approaches to achieving meaningful patient engagement in treatment decision-making,” said Ellen Miller Sonet, CancerCare’s Chief Strategy and Alliance Officer.
Learn more about the Patient Values Initiative at www.cancercare.org/patientvaluesinitiative.
