Case Study: Digital Patient Engagement in a Radiation Oncology Department at a Large Mid-Atlantic Health System
This case study shows how a large Mid-Atlantic health system used the 5thPort™ Patient Engagement and eConsent Platform to improve patient education, teach-back effectiveness, and operational efficiency within its radiation oncology department. By operationalizing remote, multimedia-based patient engagement prior to appointments, the organization reduced patient stress, improved comprehension and empowerment, and saved meaningful time for providers and nursing staff.
In order to positively impact the quality and consistency of patient education and improve its teach back survey scores, this large mid-Atlantic health system piloted 5thPort in its radiation oncology department. The 5thPort team worked with providers and administrators to implement the platform and operationalize the process of digitally engaging cancer patients who required radiation therapy as a part of their treatment.
Key Takeaways:
- Remote, multimedia patient engagement significantly improves comprehension, empowerment, and satisfaction in oncology care.
- Operationalized teach-back reduces provider workload while improving education quality.
- Standardized digital engagement enables health systems to establish a scalable, higher standard of patient-centered care.
The Challenge: Root Causes and Business Risk
Root Causes
- Patient education was delivered primarily verbally during in-office consultations, leading to inconsistent explanations across providers.
- Complex oncology concepts were difficult to communicate and retain in a single visit.
- Teach-back was recognized as valuable but lacked a scalable, operationalized process or tooling
Operational Risk
- Long consultation times increased provider and nursing workload.
- Patients arrived unprepared, stressed, and unable to actively participate in treatment decisions.
- Teach-back effectiveness was difficult to measure and improve systematically.
Business Impact if Unresolved
- Lower patient satisfaction and engagement scores.
- Increased provider burnout.
- Missed opportunity to standardize patient education and establish a higher, more consistent standard of care.
Objectives of the Pilot:
As the leading commercially available patient engagement and eConsent solution, 5thPort was selected for a pilot initiative to validate the following:
- 5thPort’s operational feasibility in an oncology setting,
- The effectiveness of remote digital, multimedia patient engagement and teach back to reduce patient stress and increase empowerment, and
- Its ability to reduce provider and staff burnout.
Solution: Operationalizing Digital Patient Engagement With 5thPort
The 5thPort platform was utilized to develop customized “engagement plans” for specific disease sites, type of treatment modality and stage of treatment regimen. The 5thPort implementation team worked with the providers and administrative staff to determine the optimum workflow, and setup the engagement artifacts. The care team was trained on the proper use of the platform in under a week.
Engagement plans were tailored by cancer type, treatment modality, and stage of care. For example:
- For breast cancer, the pre-consultation engagement plan comprised of a video (sourced in collaboration with ASTRO) explaining radiation therapy for breast cancer, a specifically created teach back style quiz, a digital brochure, several hospital specific notices (e.g., privacy and financial responsibility), multiple screening instruments (e.g., nutrition, psychosocial), the hospital specific treatment informed consent form (ICF) and a survey to gather information about the patient’s experience.
- For prostate cancer, the pre-consult engagement was tailored to provider patients with an overview of the different treatment options (i.e., external beam radiation, brachytherapy or a combination).
This enabled the patient and provider to discuss and determine the best course of action for the patient. Following the consult, the patient was sent an engagement plan that was specific to the treatment protocol established for them.
Engagements were delivered to patients digitally via a branded and customized email and/or text message one to seven days prior to their appointment date. The communication contained instructions to complete the engagements ahead of the meeting with their provider. Automated reminders were sent to patients who had not completed their engagements.
A real time dashboard allowed staff to view the status of the engagements ahead of the patient’s appointment time.
Patients came to their appointments fully educated and having read the ICF. Patients had the ability to flag sections of the ICF and note any questions that they had for discussion with their provider. At their appointment the provider reviewed and answered any questions they had and only then were they able to sign their ICF in the provider’s office. The provider and a witness completed the ICF that was generated as a PDF document.
Results and Learnings:
- 50% of patients completed their engagement on a mobile device.
- Patients overwhelmingly had positive feedback on the digital engagement experience and saw value, rating it a 4.33 on a 5 point scale
On a 5 point Likert Scale (1=Strongly Disagree; 5=Strongly Agree):
- Patients rated the effectiveness of the multimedia artifacts used (videos and documents) a 4.58/5.0.
- Completing the digital activities at home reduced stress on the day of the appointment scored a 4.30/5.0.
- Patients rated feeling empowered after this digital engagement a 4.46/5.0.
Clinical staff reported that patient conversations were easier, shorter, and more focused, and nurses noted improved ability to target areas of patient misunderstanding.
The use of 5thPort helps me focus on the precise area that patients were lacking in comprehension. Ultimately, this simplifies my workflow and I can see it revolutionizing the nursing profession.
– Nurse User
The hospital is implementing the 5thPort platform across the entire radiation oncology department, ushering in a new standard of care where every patient is digitally educated at home prior to their appointment.