Abstract: PD28-08
Sources of Funding: Supported in part by a Cancer Center Support Grant from the National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute (NIH/NCI) made to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (P30-CA008748).

Introduction

An appropriately documented medical history is critical in the decision-making process regarding prostate cancer treatment. This is traditionally performed through the standard anamnesis at the clinic visit. We implemented a novel Web tool allowing patients to report their own medical history from home before their visit. The physician then reviews the information with the patient during the clinic visit and modifies if needed, after which it is entered into the electronic medical record. We sought to examine the concordance between physician-documented versus patient-reported collection of comorbidities.

Methods

Comorbidities were collected for a sample of 213 new prostate cancer visits to our Urology clinic through an online survey ("Baseline Medical History") before the clinical encounter. The frequency distributions of comorbidities as reported by patients before physician review was compared to those documented by physicians for a sample of 298 consecutive patients presenting to the same Urology clinic before the survey went live.

Results

Patient satisfaction with the survey was excellent. Comorbidities were highly comparable between the two groups. Life expectancy estimates were similar between groups. A few comorbidity categories were reported in higher frequency in the patient-reported group compared to the physician-documented group: cardiovascular (25% vs. 20%), vascular-related (8.5% vs. 4.4%), neurologic (7.5% vs. 1.7%), gastrointestinal (30% vs. 25%), musculoskeletal comorbidities (30% vs. 21%), as well as other cancers (30% vs. 12%). Genitourinary comorbidities, including problems with urination and erectile dysfunction, were higher in the physician group (68% vs. 53%).

Conclusions

Patients completing a medical history, at their own pace and in the comfort of their own home, provide relatively accurate and complete information, even before physician review. Electronic capturing of patient-reported comorbidities thus allows for an efficient method of obtaining a patient's medical history and likely a more complete medical record.

Funding

Supported in part by a Cancer Center Support Grant from the National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute (NIH/NCI) made to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (P30-CA008748).