Tag Archive for: patient advocacy groups

Dr. Jeanne Palmer: Why Is It Important for You to Empower Patients?

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Dr. Jeanne Palmer: Why Is It Important for You to Empower Patients? from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

Why is it important to empower patients? Expert Dr. Jeanne Palmer from Mayo Clinic discusses how patient empowerment benefits patients, the importance of understanding a rare disease, and empowerment methods she finds especially helpful for her patients.

See More from Empowering Providers to Empower Patients (EPEP)

Related Resources:

Dr. Radhika Gogoi: Why Is It Important for You to Empower Patients?

 Dr. Michael Kelley: Why Is It Important for You to Empower Patients?

Dr. Michael Kelley: Why Is It Important for You to Empower Patients?

 Dr. Nicole Rochester: Why Is It Important for You to Empower Patients?

Dr. Nicole Rochester: Why Is It Important for You to Empower Patients?

Transcript:

Dr. Jeanne M. Palmer:

So I think one of the most important things that I can provide is to make sure I provide good education so they have a good understanding of the pathophysiology of their disease, they have a good understanding of what they’re going to expect with regards to symptoms as well as what benefits they may or may not get from different therapies. It’s a very anxiety-provoking thing to have a rare disease that is generally something that we can’t always offer a cure for and something that they will have to live with for a very long period of time.

So I think understanding that and understanding what the expectations may be is really important. And I really can’t stress enough the importance of some of these patient advocacy groups that really help provide excellent education programs. I tell my patients to go to them whenever possible, just because then they don’t just have to hear me talking about something, they can hear multiple other people. Because sometimes just a difference in a nuance in the way you say something, it’ll all of a sudden click with the patient. And fully recognizing that as much as I try…sometimes I’m not able to convey that. When they hear it in a different way, it can really help.

Also encouraging second opinions. I always encourage patients. I say, “If you have any questions, get another opinion, I will help facilitate it,” to really make sure that they get the information that they need and they feel comfortable with their diagnosis and their plan of care. I think that goes a long way in helping alleviate some of their concerns, especially when you say, “Okay, well, why don’t you see this other person? They’re great. I know this person.” Then they know that, “Hey, we’re all on the same page. We’re all on the same team, working together to make sure that we can treat this patient as best as we can.”

Dr. Krina Patel: Why Is It Important for You to Empower Patients?

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Dr. Krina Patel: Why Is It Important for You to Empower Patients? from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

Why is it important to empower patients in their care? Expert Dr. Krina Patel from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center discusses her approaches and how she engages with her patients through treatment, care, and survivorship.

See More from Empowering Providers to Empower Patients (EPEP)

Related Resources:

Dr. Joshua Sabari: Why Is It Important for You to Empower Patients?

 Dr. Samuel Cykert: Why Is It Important for You to Empower Patients?

Dr. Samuel Cykert: Why Is It Important for You to Empower Patients?

 Dr. Eugene Manley: Why Is It Important for You to Empower Patients?

Dr. Eugene Manley: Why Is It Important for You to Empower Patients? 

Transcript:

Dr. Krina Patel:

So I think in myeloma, where our patients for the most part are not cured, they’re incurable and for the most part are on therapy lifelong. I think it’s really important that they have a community to go to, including their caregivers. There’s a lot of caregiver burnout that happens, patients, when they’re doing well or well, but when they relapse, it can be pretty dramatic and kind of take away everything again. And every time a patient’s relapsing, sometimes it feels hopeless.

And I think with all the therapies we have out there, this embarrassment of riches as we myeloma doctors like to say, we have to be able to get them through to have access to these drugs at the right time, make sure we decrease toxicity. But it’s a lot of information.

And I think for our patients, no matter how much time we spend with them, it’s just, it’s overwhelming. And I think it is for a lot of my colleagues who don’t just do myeloma all the time. I mean, it’s overwhelming for me half the time when I’m trying to see my patients and figuring out which is the next therapy. And so I really, at the first visit, talk to my patients about patient advocacy groups that are out there. And I even give them websites to go to.

At MD Anderson we’re trying to make videos for our patients so that while they’re waiting in the waiting rooms, they’ll have access to those, specifically, for CAR-T therapy and bispecifics. I think those are such great novel therapies, but they’re also high maintenance as I like to call them that there’s a lot of supportive care that’s needed for infection prophylaxis to make sure they don’t get secondary cancers, right?

All these complications that can happen, neurotoxicity, etcetera. And thankfully, for the most part, our patients do really well and they can get through it. But for those patients who end up with that, it’s really important they have this information, so they know when to contact us. And I think for my colleagues as well, we’re trying really hard to make sure we have better communication, for my patients that are in the community coming in for CAR T or for bispecific therapy, then going back to their doctors, their community doctors for the rest of their care.

So we have letters, that we come up with that we give to the patient as well as send to their doctor. We have phone numbers they can call that even if they’re back home, and they need to get ahold of someone that, they have a lifeline to say, I don’t know what to do. This is happening. And I think, it’s really important again for the patients and their caregivers to really understand, this is a lifelong journey, right?

This is not something that you’re just going to get a few cycles of treatment and then you go to survivorship clinic. And then hopefully we never have to treat again. And that this myeloma as of right now is still a continuous therapy and it could be, long periods of time between therapies. Or you might go on maintenance, for a long period of time before you need your next line of therapy, but this is a lifelong therapy that we’re going to have to do with, with everybody involved.

And I think, again, I can’t see every patient out there and most myeloma specialists can’t, but we’re happy to be a part of the team. And so really, when we can have access to things that the community might not, or be able to help in terms of, what combination is the best for this patient, and what dose reductions should we do for this specific patient?

Those are the things we would love to help our community doctors with to make sure outcomes for all our patients, those who are near us, but those who are also physically not close to us that we can still be able to help to make sure that they have the best efficacy, but also the best quality of life with this disease.

How Can MPN Patients Become More Proactive in Their Care?

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How Can MPN Patients Become More Proactive in Their Care? from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

How can MPN patients become more empowered and active in their care? Dr. Claire Harrison from Guy’s and St. Thomas’ Hospital in London shares advice for patients to gain confidence to become a more active participant for optimal care.

See More from Best MPN Care No Matter Where You Live

Related Resources:

How Are MPN Treatments Changing for Low-Risk vs High-Risk Patients?

 
 What Are the Unmet Needs in Access to MPN Care?

 Advice for Hesitant MPN Clinical Trial Participants

Transcript:

Dr. Nicole Rochester: 

So what advice would you give for patients so that they can really take a proactive approach to their healthcare and feel more confident in talking about their concerns and communicating with their healthcare team, you’ve shared with us how important that is. Do you have maybe two or three specific tips or maybe questions that every MPN patient should ask their healthcare provider?

Dr. Claire Harrison: 

I think the first thing to say is, in my personal view is you do not have to be under an MPN expert to get the best care. I know some people differ with regard to that, but these are chronic conditions, there are national and international guidelines, clinicians are connected. We all talk about patients over time, as we like to do that, we like to get the best for our patients, so a local center with a clinician who you trust, who you get on with…where you can get there easily. You trust their team, you know their logistics work for you, maybe it’s a nurse who work who you get on with, well, who comes to the appointment with you, that is just as good as being under the best professor in the state, where you might not actually see them  when you turn up and go to the unit, so that’s really important, understanding your condition, and if you don’t understand being empowered to ask questions, and if you’re in a position where you can’t ask a question, something’s wrong. So don’t be afraid, take somebody with you, write it down. 

Sometimes it can be a mistake to do a troll on the Internet, so I wouldn’t always encourage that because what’s on the Internet is not always accurate, but go to a trusted website as the clinician…where can I go to find out more information? Some patient advocacy groups run buddy systems that can also be very helpful and it can be very empowering to meet another patient with the same or similar condition, so I think those are all helpful tips from my perspective, also don’t expect to get all the answers all the time, it can be really tricky as a clinician, maybe you get a patient who comes with a big long list of questions, and say What is your top question that you really want answers to. 

Dr. Nicole Rochester:

Those are awesome, awesome tips. I’m just going to repeat a few of them, just to highlight, you mentioned prioritizing your concerns which is incredibly important, and acknowledging that the clinician doesn’t have unlimited time, and so really focusing on the things that concern you the most, you mentioned bringing a buddy to appointments, which is something I fully endorse, so that there’s someone else that’s taking notes or…it can be your eyes and ears during that appointment, things that you may have missed either because of anxiety or stress, and you mentioned writing things down, taking notes, even as the patient asking questions, which is so incredibly important, and really the way that I feel patients demonstrate their involvement in their disease and being an active member of the team, so I really, really appreciate those tips, Dr. Harrison, I think that you have given us so information, so much information about how to empower MPN patients and their families so that they can really get the best care at the outset. 

How Can MPN Patients Stay Up to Date With New Treatments?

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How Can MPN Patients Stay Up to Date With New Treatments? from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

What are some ways for MPN patients to stay updated on new treatments? MPN expert Dr. Claire Harrison from Guy’s and St. Thomas’ Hospital in London shares resources for MPN treatment news and the benefits that data sharing brings for all MPN patients.

See More from Best MPN Care No Matter Where You Live

Related Resources:

New Developments in MPN Treatment Landscape

 What Is in the Treatment Pipeline for Patients With MPNs?

 How Are MPN Treatments Changing for Low-Risk vs High-Risk Patients?

Transcript:

Dr. Nicole Rochester: 

Dr. Harrison, how can patients best keep up with the new treatments and communicate with their doctors in a way that makes sure that they have access to these new therapies?

Dr. Claire Harrison: 

Well, I think patient advocacy groups are really important here, and use of social media and the Internet, you’re only a few clicks away from updated data, programs like these, but you also have to trust your team and trust your doctor. We all have to keep up to date. That is a professional requirement, and we also are all networked, so I’d probably get 10 to 15 emails a day from colleague saying, “Hi Claire, can I talk to you about this?” There was an email just the other day about a patient in Washington, actually a very young child, we are all connected. 

We all want the best for our patients. But do you remember that you can contribute as a patient to advance this in your field, and I know many patients are really interested in this, if you are asked to submit in a blood sample, giving permission for us to use your data. So if we can touch maybe on the field of real-world data and real-world data collection here would be good, so what on the real world data? What does that mean? And so this is becoming a really important way that’s recognized by the FDA and other approval agencies in the world, so in Europe, we have EMEA, for example, and in the UK, we have NHRA as a way of collecting data on agents, so once they are approved, we collect data with regard to how the patients do. 

We’ve traditionally done this, but increasingly, as we use electronic data for our patients, we’re more able to collect real-world data, how does my patient who is with myelofibrosis on ruxolitinib (Jakafi) in my clinic inside East London do? So if we can pull that data, we learn a lot more about how these agents are working in patients outside of clinical trial, so you will be contributing if you allow us to collect that kind of data, we discovered JAK2 mutations, CALR mutations, etcetera from samples collected from patients and data. If you want to be part of a clinical trial, then by all means, ask your healthcare team, many MPN centers have lists of trials, and you can always look at clinicaltrials.gov, but boy you throw up a lot of different options when you search in that…on that website. 

Dr. Nicole Rochester: 

Thank you. I think it’s important to talk about real-world data because in this day and age, many of us are very protective about our personal health information and we should be, but as you stated, having access to that data is really a key way to advance the science and technology in the treatment of some of these conditions, so I really appreciate you sharing that.

Dr. Claire Harrison: 

I think just to point out, and I’m sure the audience is acutely aware of what did we learn about COVID? We learned an awful lot about COVID from real-world data from all you MPN patients who gave samples, who told us about how you did with COVID, that’s how we learned about what happened to patients during COVID with MPN, how they responded to vaccination, etcetera. It’s really powerful. And your data will be anonymized, it won’t be linked back to you, Nicole Rochester, or me, Claire Harrison it will be completely anonymous.