End-of-life care for Filipino patients with cancer.

Providing end-of-life care within the cultural context of a Filipino patient in the United States is a complex process for clinicians, patients, and their families. An inclusive approach is crucial, especially because a significant proportion of patients belong to minority groups such as Filipinos, who represent the fourth largest group of immigrants in the United States as of data available in 2019. The case provided in this paper highlights the importance of family, religion, and finances in guiding the best possible way of providing end-of-life care for Filipino patients with cancer.

Oncology patients' perception of physicians who use an integrated electronic health record (EHR) during clinic visits: PRIME-EHR double-blind, randomized controlled trial.

Background: Patients with cancer prefer and positively perceive physicians who communicate face-to-face without the use of a computer. However, the use of electronic health records (EHRs) in the examination room remains a practical necessity. On the basis of existing literature, the authors developed and tested an integration model, PRIME-EHR, that focuses on the best-practice guidelines.

Concurrent use of opioids with benzodiazepines or nonbenzodiazepine sedatives among patients with cancer referred to an outpatient palliative care clinic.

Background: The concurrent use of opioids with benzodiazepines (BZD) or nonbenzodiazepine sedatives (S) recently was found to be associated with an increased risk of overdose death compared with the use of opioids alone. In the current study, the authors examined the frequency and trend of concurrent opioid/BZD-S use and its associated risk factors among patients with cancer.

Methods: Data regarding the frequency and trend of concurrent opioid/BZD-S use were extracted for 1500 randomly selected patients referred to the outpatient palliative care clinic at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center between the calendar years of 2011 and 2016.

Opioid Prescription Trends Among Patients With Cancer Referred to Outpatient Palliative Care Over a 6-Year Period.

Introduction: In the United States, opioid regulations have become increasingly stringent in recent years. Increased regulatory scrutiny, in part, is related to heightened awareness through literature and a recent media blitz on the opioid prescription epidemic. These regulations have the potential to impact prescription trends by health care providers.

State of art of managing pain in patients with cancer.

Pain in cancer patients involves complex interactions between physiological, psychological, sociocultural, sensory, cognitive, and behavioral dimensions. Pain management interventions will be most effective when pharmacological and nonpharmacological treatments are individualized after exploring the various contributors to pain and suffering, and the patient and family are educated and involved in decision making. This entails a systematic multidimensional approach with frequent reassessments of pain and related outcomes.

Access to palliative care among patients treated at a comprehensive cancer center.

Background: Palliative care (PC) is a critical component of comprehensive cancer care. Previous studies on PC access have mostly examined the timing of PC referral. The proportion of patients who actually receive PC is unclear.

Targeted agent use in cancer patients at the end of life.

Context: The use of targeted therapy at the end of life has not been well characterized.

Objectives: To determine the frequency and predictors of targeted therapy use in the last days of life.

Methods: All adult patients residing in the Houston area who died of advanced cancer between September 1, 2009 and February 28, 2010 and had contact with our institution within the last three months of life were included.