Patient and caregiver’s satisfaction with multidisciplinary vs. serial lung cancer care in a community setting.

200 Background: Few existing studies examined lung cancer patients and caregivers’ satisfaction with the team-based multidisciplinary care (MD) in comparison to the usual serial care (SC). We hypothesized that MD, by providing early and concurrent input from key specialists collaborating as a team with patients and caregivers to develop a consensus care plan, can improve patients and caregivers’ satisfaction with care, compared to SC, in which multiple specialists independently screen, diagnose, and treat patients through a fragmented sequence of referrals. Methods: Data on newly diagnosed lung cancer patients, enrolled in a prospective matched cohort comparative effectiveness trial of MD or SC between Oct. 9th, 2014 and July 5th, 2017 in a Mid-South community hospital system, were collected at baseline, 3- and 6-month periods to assess patient and caregiver’s satisfaction with these two care-delivery models. Measures of satisfaction were adapted from the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) survey. Multivariate mixed linear models were used to examine the cross-group differences, the time-related variances, and how the interaction between groups and time-periods influenced patients’ and caregivers’ satisfaction. Results: Compared with SC (N = 297), patients in MD (N = 159) were older (66 vs. 69 years), more in an early cancer stage (33% vs. 41% in stage I or II), and lower in performance score (35% vs. 45% asymptomatic). Demographic and social-economic characteristics of caregivers in MD (N = 97) and SC (N = 122) were not significantly different. Patients and caregivers in MD were more likely than those in SC to perceive their care to be better than that received by other patients (p =.003 and p <.001 respectively). Greater satisfaction with their treatment plan at 6-month was observed among the MD patients (p =.004). Also, MD patients reported better overall satisfaction with team members (p =.038). Consistent with the findings among the patients in MD, caregivers in MD were more satisfied with the quality of care (p <.001) and with care received from team members (p <.001) than that reported by caregivers in SC. Conclusions: Coordinated MD care improved patients and caregivers’ satisfaction with lung cancer care in a community healthcare system. Further research will compare the quality of life and financial burden on patients in the MD and SC treatment models to provide more evidence for stakeholders to refine cancer care models.