Piloting a point-of-care patient education tool, MyCareGorithm, for multimodal pancreatic cancer treatment: A qualitative study.

555 Background: Patients with localized pancreatic cancer (PC) require multimodal therapy to improve outcomes. Various options, timing, and sequence of therapies (e.g., chemotherapy, radiation, and/or surgery) can leave patients feeling confused and uninformed about treatment. To improve patient-clinician communication and patient decision-making, there is a need to develop and test point-of-care patient education tools. Methods: We piloted MyCareGorithm (MCG), a point-of-care patient education tool, in 20 individuals diagnosed with localized PC requiring multidisciplinary care. The tool was used by clinicians during patient visits to review patients’ diagnosis, treatment options, and potential benefits and risks of therapy. Patients could access the web tool at home or share information in the tool with caregivers, and access educational materials. Semi-structured, 45-minute qualitative interviews were conducted with 10 participants, and another 10 were randomly selected for satisfaction surveys. Results: Most participants were female (58%) with median age 71 (54-89). About half (47%) of patients were second opinions. No patient had seen a similar tool used in prior consultations; 100% indicated the MCG consultation was significantly better/better than previous medical consultations. All patients strongly agreed MCG met their approval and would recommend to a friend/family member. Most patients (88%) indicated MCG had a positive impact on their understanding of their disease and treatment plan. All surveyed patients strongly agreed MCG enhanced their confidence in their provider. Open ended responses commonly indicated the tool allowed providers to display intricate details through the drawing function. Participants noted several benefits of MCG during the interviews (e.g., communicating care plan with caregivers) (Table). Conclusions: Overall, patients found the MCG tool to be useful for considering treatment options, understanding their diagnosis, and communicating their care plan with caregivers. Future studies are needed to test the feasibility and acceptability of the tool in a larger patient population. Theme Quotation Answers patient questions "When we had a question…we were able to go back and research it in the educational tool." Ask more informed questions "I’m better informed, so my questions and concerns are more detailed.” Share information with caregivers “It puts you all on the same page…getting the information from the same location.” Compare treatment options “Very easy to compare options. There was plan A and plan B...” Provides a visualization “Visualize what is going on in my body…understand what will be happening during my surgery.” Recommendations “Helpful to have a comparison of strategies for managing side effects.”