Author of

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  MA17 - New Methods to Improve Lung Cancer Patients Outcomes (ID 918)

  • Event: WCLC 2018
  • Type: Mini Oral Abstract Session
  • Track: Nursing and Allied Professionals
  • Presentations: 1
  • Moderators:
  • Coordinates: 9/25/2018, 13:30 - 15:00, Room 205 AC

  • 26075

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    MA17.05 - Development of a Telephone Clinic for Patients Undergoing Long Term Follow-Up After Thoracic Surgery (ID 12598)

    14:00 - 14:05  |  Author(s): Sarah Malone
    • Abstract
    • Presentation
    • Slides

    Background
    

    Patients undergoing long term follow-up after lung cancer surgery in our institution follow an imaging based follow-up programme. Protocol led CT imaging followed by an out-patient appointment is undertaken every 6 months for two years after surgery then annually until year 5. Feedback from patients indicated they find two trips to the hospital burdensome and they frequently requested results of surveillance imaging over the telephone. Limited capacity in the thoracic surgery clinics led to long waits for an appointment to be informed of imaging results. To address these issues, we developed a model of nurse led telephone follow-up after surveillance imaging.

    a9ded1e5ce5d75814730bb4caaf49419 Method
    

    A proposal to hold one telephone clinic per week was made to commissioners in the autumn of 2016. Following approval, the telephone clinic commenced in April 2017. Patients are triaged by the specialist nurse when CT results are available and allocated to the telephone clinic if appropriate. They are given a timed appointment and the telephone number they will be contacted on is confirmed prior to the appointment. A database is completed during the appointment, a record of the consultation is made in both paper and electronic patient records and a letter is sent to the GP and other teams who have contact with the patient. Patients with significant abnormalities on CT imaging are referred for discussion by the multidisciplinary team and seen in a face to face clinic.

    4c3880bb027f159e801041b1021e88e8 Result
    

    In the first twelve months (April 2017 to March 2018) there were 254 patient appointments in 51 telephone clinics. Average call length is 10 minutes with a range of 3 to 22 minutes. One patient scheduled for a telephone appointment was not contactable at the appointed time (0.4%). Satisfaction with the clinic is high with 98% of patients requesting their next follow-up appointment in the telephone clinic. Clinic capacity was increased at reduced cost to commissioners as a telemedicine appointment is charged at £25.34 compared to £70.16 for a face to face appointment.

    8eea62084ca7e541d918e823422bd82e Conclusion
    

    Early results suggest nurse led telephone clinics are an effective way of providing follow-up to patients on an imaging based follow-up programme after surgery. They are well received by patients. We aim to introduce an online tool to objectively assess symptoms in this patient group. Further evaluation of patient experience in this clinic would be beneficial, along with an evaluation of the impact of introduction of telephone follow-up on the rest of the service.

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