Judith E. Nelson|Elizabeth Gay|Andrew Berman|Charles A. Powell|John Salazar?Schicchi|Juan P. Wisnivesky
Patients rate physician communication about lung cancer
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai|University of Virginia Health System|Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai|Albert Einstein College of Medicine|Montefiore Medical Center|Columbia University Irving Medical Center|Harlem Hospital Center|Columbia University|Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
abstract background highquality lung cancer care includes physicianpatient communication disease treatment patient needspreferences care goals study authors evaluated communication patients stages across multiple topics methods standardized questionnaire asked patients lung cancer rate 5point verbal descriptor scale extent communication physicians symptoms spiritual concerns practical needs proxy appointment living preparation prognosis care goals potential complications therapy life support preferences hospice communication defined inadequate patient reported discussing 5 11 questionnaire topics little bit multivariate logistic regression used evaluate factors associated inadequate communication results total 276 348 79 eligible patients enrolled mean age standard deviation 65 10 years 55 white 21 black 19 hispanic disease stages topics majority respondents reported physicians communicated little bit low ratings frequent discussion emotional symptoms 56 95 confidence interval ci 4962 practical needs 71 95 ci 6576 spiritual concerns 80 95 ci 7585 proxy appointment 63 95 ci 5769 living preparation 90 95 ci 8593 life support preferences 80 95 ci 7584 hospice 88 95 ci 8694 communication inadequate patients different ages stages races although hispanics less likely nonhispanic whites blacks report inadequate communication odds ratio 031 95 ci 015065 conclusions across stages patients lung cancer reported low rates physicianpatient communication key topics may increase patient distress impair decisionmaking compromise clinical outcomes use patterns cancer 2011 2011 american cancer society