JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

The Michigan Oncology Quality Consortium (MOQC) developed Rapid Patient Reported Outcome measure (RapidPRO) focused on oral anticancer agents (OAA). We piloted this measure in six oncology practices to determine its usefulness in representing the symptom experience and medication adherence among individuals taking OAAs. It is common in oncology for cancer-specific approaches to be used, we sought to use one instrument for all OAAs as a means to simplify future implantation in practice.

Objective:

Thus, this study aimed to describe the use of the RapidPRO in practice, and quantify the clinical metrics in the RapidPRO for symptom burden, confidence to manage symptoms/seek care, and OAA medication adherence.

Methods:

This observational study was conducted across six practices from July 2016 to December 2018. RapidPRO assesses symptoms, patient confidence, and medication adherence with oral anticancer agents.

Results:

There were 2252 RapidPROs completed by 695 patients. Among individuals completing at least two RapidPROs, the median number of days between them was 28. Of the completed RapidPROs, 1213 (54%) reported at least one moderate or severe symptom and 28% reported medication non-adherence. Most bothersome symptoms (MBS, n=1045) were reported in 790 RapidPROs (35%), and 46.5% of all patients reported an MBS. In exploratory analyses, RapidPROs that reported a moderate or severe symptom or lower confidence to manage symptoms were more likely to be non-adherent to OAA therapy. The most common reason for medication non-adherence was ‘experienced side effects’.

Conclusions:

These results show that most RapidPROs reported at least one moderate or severe symptom and 28% reported medication non-adherence. As well, RapidPRO was able to capture the majority of patients’ most bothersome symptoms. By implementing the RapidPRO, practices can identify patients who experience symptoms as well as those who report non-adherence.