A digital oncology patient-reported outcomes platform: Building innovative electronic patient symptom assessments in epic mychart to improve the quality of life and survival of patients with advanced cancer.

e18312 Background: Establishing a system to monitor patient reported outcomes (“PRO”) has been demonstrated to be essential for a well-functioning cancer system. Studies have shown that routine collection of PROs allows providers to address medical issues earlier and impacts a patient’s overall survival. Unmet needs for symptom management are prevalent in the cancer population, especially patients with advanced cancer. Approximately 35% of UCLA Hematology-Oncology patients with advanced cancer in 2016 presented to Emergency Rooms for symptom-related complaints such as nausea, pain, constipation, dehydration, and fatigue. We hypothesize that the creation of an electronic PRO platform through EPIC MyChart will ensure patients receive timely evaluation of their symptoms, resulting in improved quality of life, and decreased ER and hospital utilization. Methods: We developed an innovative PRO platform through Epic MyChart along with a Best Practice Advisory alert system to identify patients at risk for worsening symptoms, ER visits, and inpatient admissions. We then built an electronic version of the Edmonson Symptoms Assessment System, which providers can push to patients through Epic MyChart, with results stored within the Flowsheets section of Epic. We also built a passive alert using Epic’s Best Practice Advisory (“BPA”) system, to notify providers when a patient’s MyChart ESAS Assessment Scores have exceeded a defined threshold. Results: Preliminary data from surveys sent to a series of advanced cancer patients seen in an outpatient palliative oncology clinic over 1 month, demonstrated a 100% response rate (6/7) surveys completed when sent one week prior to patient’s being seeing in clinic, and 17% response rate (1/6) when sent two to three weeks prior to clinic visit. The average total ESAS score reported was 40, with average individual score of 4/10 for any given symptom. Conclusions: We will implement this electronic PRO platform in multiple oncology clinics at UCLA, and measure provider and patient satisfaction, completion rates, and monitor outcomes such as ED visits and inpatient admissions. We hope this system will lead to an overall survival benefit. This project demonstrates the potential of developing innovative PRO platforms through Epic MyChart and the importance of clinical workflows in the implementation process.