635 Expectations and Concerns of Patients Attending a Spinal Outpatient Clinic
Abstract Aim Identifying expectations and concerns of patients is vital during clinical consultation in patient-centred healthcare systems. Most spinal surgery is elective and focussed on improving quality of life. Understanding what patients want from treatment at baseline may improve experience and outcomes. Method New patient data from the caseload of a single orthopaedic spinal surgeon (from April 2012-18) was analysed with expectations and concerns reported in the outpatient clinic letter (standard practice for surgeon). Results Of 940 patients (498 NHS, 442 private), mean age was 58.3 with 46.0% male and 54.0% female. Nearly 1-in-6 patients underwent previous surgery. The most common expectation was ‘reduce pain’ (41.8%), followed by diagnosis (23.0%), treatment options (13.5%), unsure (10.5%). The most common concern was ‘continuation/worsening of pain’ (27.0%), followed by loss of function (15.9%), work-related (8.3%), permanent disability (7.8%). NHS patients were significantly more unsure of expectations (19.7% vs 4.5%, p<.001) and less frequently raised concerns (39.0% vs 18.8%, p<.001). NHS patients had significantly worse Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) scores (46.8% vs 42.0% p<.001), were more depressed (PHQ-9: 11.5 vs 8.9, p<.001) and anxious (GAD-7: 8.2 vs 5.9, p<.001). Private patients were significantly more likely to report problems sleeping (79.4% vs 51.0%, p<.001). Patients concerned about permanent disability had significantly worse ODI (51.0% vs 42.7%, p<.001), PHQ-9 (12.6 vs 10.2 p=.013) and GAD-7 (9.0 vs 7.1, p=.017) scores. Conclusions This study identified patient expectations and concerns in spinal outpatient clinic in both healthcare sectors. Future work should explore these findings in context with clinical outcome.