Few EHRs have integrated SDM, and even fewer evaluations of these exist. EHRs have potential in supporting providers during all steps of SDM. The promise of EHRs to support SDM has yet to be fully exploited.
Background: Menopause is a time often fraught with changes and symptoms, which may require difficult choices and decision-making. During this period, women would benefit from a better understanding and indepth discussions with providers regarding menopause, associated conditions, and appropriate therapy. Patient portals offer a potential means to improve knowledge and shared decision-making (SDM) about menopause. Materials and Methods: This protocol article explores the feasibility of using the secure messaging (SM) function of the Veterans Affairs (VA) Patient Portal, ''My HealtheVet'' to implement an educational intervention and measure its impact on knowledge and SDM in the management of menopause. Results: This is a quality improvement pilot study in which women veterans of menopausal age in the Miami VA are offered an educational intervention via a patient portal, while women veterans in two neighboring VA facilities are not. Intervention participants receive weekly SMs with information on menopause symptoms, and treatment. After 6-months, all participants are surveyed on menopause knowledge, SDM, and satisfaction with the program. Conclusion: This study is among the first to assess the impact of an innovative patient portal intervention to improve knowledge and SDM between patients and providers regarding menopause. If successful, our program will add to the ''meaningful use'' of patient portals and offer a scalable and timely resource for SDM about menopause.
Background/method: Central nervous system (CNS) relapse in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) although uncommon, can be devastating. Conflicting reports have been published regarding the reduction in incidence of CNS relapse in post-rituximabera.We retrospectively identified all the patients with DLBCL who has received rituximab-based chemotherapy at initial presentation in our institute between 2004 and 2014. Patients were divided into two groups, ‘high risk’ group and ‘standard risk’ group, based on following definition. High risk group will have at least one of the following risk factors 1) LDH ≥ 650 U/L 2) Age adjusted International Prognostic Index (IPI) of ≥ 4 3) Involvement of > 1 extra nodal site 4) Involvement of testis 5) Breast 6) Bones 7) Kidneys 8) Adrenal glands 9) Retroperitoneal lymph nodes 10) Para-meninges or 11) Bone marrow. Patients without any of these risk factors were deemed standard risk. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the incidence of CNS relapse, patient and disease characteristics. Historically reported incidence rates were used for comparison. Results:One hundred and forty two consecutive patients with DLBCL were included in our study. One hundred and twenty two patients received rituximab-based therapy at the initial diagnosis. Forty-nine patients (40%) met the criteria for ‘high risk’ based on the above definition. Seventy-three patients (60%) qualified for standard risk group. Standard risk group received no CNS directed prophylaxis and none of these patients had CNS relapses. Thirty-one of 49 ‘high risk’ patients received CNS prophylaxis, mainly intrathecal methotrexate. Total 5 patients (4.09%) developed CNS relapse. CNS relapse in high-risk group was 10.2% (5/49). Median age at diagnosis in patients with CNS relapse was 53 years. Median time to relapse was 8.76 months. Median survival after the CNS relapse was 9.16 months. Four out of 5 patients received CNS prophylaxis with intrathecal methotrexate or systemic methotrexate or systemic cytarabine or a combination of them. Average number of doses of prophylaxis received by each patient was 3.2 (range 1-7). Only one patient who developed CNS relapse did not receive any CNS directed therapy as prophylaxis. Conclusion:No significant reduction in the incidence of CNS relapse was noted with upfront use of rituximab. Our study confirms that majority of the DLBCL patients do not need CNS directed therapy. For high risk DLBCL patients, we not only need to develop better predictive markers for CNS relapse but also need better CNS directed therapies to prevent this fatal complication of highly curable disease. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
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