Fighting cancer together: Development and implementation of shared medical appointments to standardize and improve chemotherapy education.

Objective: Shared medical appointments offer a novel approach to improve efficiency and quality of care consistent with the goals of the Institute of Medicine. Our objective was to develop and implement a shared medical appointment for gynecologic cancer patients initiating chemotherapy.

Methods: We first assessed the level of interest in shared medical appointments among our patients and providers through qualitative interviews. Both patients and providers identified pre-chemotherapy as an optimal area to pilot shared medical appointments. We subsequently created a multidisciplinary team comprised of physicians, advanced practice providers, nurses, pharmacists, administrators, health education specialists and members of the Quality Improvement Department to establish a Shared Medical Appointment and Readiness Teaching (SMART) program for all gynecologic oncology patients initiating chemotherapy with platinum- and/or taxane-based regimens. We developed a standardized chemotherapy education presentation and provided patients with a tool kit that consisted of chemotherapy drug education, a guide to managing side effects, advance directives, and center contact information.

Results: From May 9, 2014 to June 26, 2015, 144 patients participated in 51 SMART visits. The majority of patients had ovarian cancer and were treated with carboplatin/paclitaxel. Surveyed patients reported being highly satisfied with the group visit and would recommend shared medical appointments to other patients.

Conclusions: This model of care provides patient education within a framework of social support that empowers patients. Shared medical appointments for oncology patients initiating chemotherapy are both feasible and well accepted.