Using outcome information in the consultation room

To deliver value-driven care, more and more information is being collected on treatment outcomes (also known as outcome information). This outcome information is then used to continuously improve care, in part by comparing this information between healthcare providers, in order to learn from each other. But is this same outcome information also useful in the consultation room to better inform and support the patient in making treatment choices?

To answer this question, the authors (including from IQ Health) asked healthcare providers in interviews what their perspective is on discussing outcome information in the consultation room. Then, patients from three different patient groups (prostate cancer, lung cancer and IBD) were presented with the outcome indicators collected for their condition within the Santeon hospitals, and for each indicator, asked whether they would find this information important to know or discuss with their healthcare provider.

In the interviews, healthcare professionals emphasized the importance of discussing outcome information with patients, but indicated that there are several barriers to using the information well in the consultation room, including low response rates to patient-reported outcome questionnaires. Healthcare providers then cited a number of solutions to these impeding factors, including having staff with time to support patients in completing questionnaires. See the figure below for a summary of the results of the interviews:

Patients (n=283) indicated that they would like to understand outcome information (77% of all outcome indicators were scored as "important"), with patients with different conditions appearing to have somewhat different information needs. For example, questionnaire results show that lung and prostate cancer patients want to discuss 69% and 76% of outcome indicators with their healthcare provider, respectively, while IBD patients want to discuss only 42% of outcome indicators with their healthcare provider.

This study shows that both providers and patients value discussing outcome information in the consultation room, but that information needs differ between patients (groups). This highlights the importance of delivering personalized care. Currently, healthcare providers experience multiple barriers to using outcome information in the consultation room. The suggested measures in this study offer starting points to improve the use of outcome information in the consultation room.

Read the publication here: Westerink HJ, Bresser CC, Garvelink MM, van Uden-Kraan CF, Zouitni O, Bart HAJ, van der Wees PJ, van der Nat PB; Santeon Patient Participation Study Group. The use of outcome data in patient consultations from the healthcare professionals' and patients' perspectives: A mixed methods study. Patient Educ Couns. 2023 Oct 31;118:108043. doi: 10.1016/j.pec.2023.108043. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37925975