21 June 2016
In October, we solicited input a research survey designed to identify how patients prefer to be notified of a new cancer diagnosis and cancer-related test results. The results were presented at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Breast Surgeons in April. The full manuscript – What Do Patients Prefer? Understanding Patient Preferences for Receiving a New Breast Cancer Diagnosis – was just published in the Annals of Surgical Oncology.
Our study showed that physicians are not meeting patient expectations regarding mode of diagnosis disclosure (phone versus in person) or timeliness of results disclosure. The majority of patients who responded to our survey preferred to be notified in person, however many commented that they truly preferred the method that was fastest. More patients preferred to be notified of radiology results by telephone, and electronic methods such as email or patient portal were preferred for blood test results.
We included many of your comments in the manuscript, and it is clear that one size most definitely does not fit all in terms of results disclosure. However, from our study it is very clear that we are not meeting patient expectations. System issues should be evaluated to identify areas of improvement in terms of timeliness of results disclosure, and physicians should ask patients how they prefer to be notified, and should make every effort to honor patient preferences.
Thank you to the community for your participation in this study, and for helping to make an important contribution to the literature. This study would not have happened without the support of the #BCSM community, as well as the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation, Living Beyond Breast Cancer, and the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. If anyone is interested in receiving the manuscript (and you are not able to download it from the Springer website) please email me: [contact at drattai dot com] and I will be happy to send you a copy of the paper.
Deanna J. Attai MD, FACS
Regina Hampton MD, FACS
Alicia Staley BS, MBA, MS
Andrew Bogert PhD
Jeffrey Landercasper MD, FACS
