Tag Archive for: patient goals

Dr. Ana Maria Lopez: Why Is It Important for You to Empower Patients?

/in , /by

Dr. Ana Maria Lopez: Why Is It Important for You to Empower Patients? from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

Can myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN) care providers take a different approach to hierarchical patient-provider healthcare? Expert Dr. Ana Maria Lopez from Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center provides insight to the approach she takes to help empower patients in their care experience.

See More from Empowering Providers to Empower Patients (EPEP)

Related Resources:

 Dr. Heather Wakelee: Why Is It Important for You to Empower Lung Cancer Patients?

Transcript:

Dr. Ana Maria Lopez:  

I think, I really see myself as a facilitator of the healing process, the patient is the expert in their disease, in their illness process, they are living it every single day. And by having the patient, kind of like what we said earlier, you know the patient has questions, or the patient comes in with a list of questions, that’s great, because the patient is activated…is empowered enough to say, “Hey, these are my concerns.” So I think having a person get to that space or helping them get to that space is really, really important, and then what I can do to help with that is one, is simply to encourage that, that the patient is the expert in their own disease, and how they want to, I want to understand what is the experience like for you? What are your goals, what are your needs, what is most difficult or least difficult, and what is it that we need to address? So that I’m really partnering and really understanding from the patient’s experience, so I think that we’ve had such changes and there used to be the physician and the patient, and very hierarchical.

I tell you what to do. There’s so much information now, and there’s really more of a respect, and I think that’s really important, that respect that we are partners. And ultimately, this is about you, this is about the patient. So “How can I help you?”  is I think my approach.

The Importance of Acute Myeloid Leukemia Patient Empowerment

/in , , , , , , , /by

The Importance of Acute Myeloid Leukemia Patient Empowerment from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

Why is acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patient empowerment vital? How can acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients become empowered? AML expert Dr. Catherine Lai from Penn Medicine explains how she helps empower her patients and why educating patients is a vital part of their care.

[ACT]IVATION TIP from Dr. Lai: “Don’t be afraid to ask questions, don’t be afraid to ask about resources and other ways to get information, you want the right resources, so not necessarily…everything on Google is accurate, but there are lots of good resources out there that can give you the information needed so that you can make educated decisions.”

Download Resource Guide

Download Resource Guide en español

See More from [ACT]IVATED AML

Related Resources:

Long-Term Effects Acute Myeloid Leukemia Patients Should Know

Long-Term Effects Acute Myeloid Leukemia Patients Should Know

AML Treatment Approaches Expand for Older and High-Risk Patients

 A Look at Lower Intensity Chemotherapy in Untreated AML

Transcript: 

Dr. Lai: 

It’s important to empower patients so that we’re making the best decision for them…that’s in line with their goals. I think that one of the main reasons why I love what I do is because I’m able to participate in the patient’s journey, and that journey doesn’t always mean that a patient has to live longer.

So I try to ask patients or do as patients, what are their…short- and long-term goals, do they have life events that they want to get to, is there a wedding coming up, a grandchild or something that I can help them get them to so that we can make a decision together that is taking into consideration their life outside of clinic and outside of the hospital.

I like to try to spend a lot of time with my patients educating them. Some people say I sometimes give them too much information, but I don’t feel like patients can make good decisions without being properly informed. So an educated patient makes a much better…makes a much better decision than somebody who doesn’t have the information.

And then I would also say it’s important to emphasize that you and your provider and our advanced practice provider and the social worker, we’re all a part of the same team that we all want the best outcome for the patient. And so knowing that, that you have a team of people that are taking care of you and that you really need to embrace learning and understanding as much as possible so that you can make the best decision about your short-term and long-term plan for yourself. So activation tip here is don’t be afraid to ask questions, don’t be afraid to ask about resources and other ways to get information, you want the right resources, so not necessarily…everything on Google is accurate, but there are lots of good resources out there that can give you the information needed so that you can make educated decisions.

Share Your Feedback About [ACT]IVATED AML

Ready to Start an MPN Treatment? What You Need to Consider.

/in , , , , , , , /by

Ready to Start an MPN Treatment? What You Need to Consider. from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

Lindsey Lyle discusses the factors that should be considered when choosing a therapy.

Lindsey Lyle is a physician assistant at the University of Colorado Cancer Center, specializing in hematological malignancies with a subspecialty in myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs). More about this expert here.

See More From the The Path to MPN Empowerment

Related Programs:

Diagnosed With an MPN? Why You Should Consider a Second Opinion.

Essential Lab Tests for MPNs

An Expert Summary of Current MPN Treatment Options

Transcript:

Lindsey:

When deciding about a treatment, it’s really important for the healthcare professional and the patient to discuss the patient’s goals.

The patient really is the key player here, and we as medical professionals are here to support the patient’s goals. So, what might work for one patient is not going to be necessarily the same treatment I would choose for a different patient. So, right off the bat, identifying the patient’s goals – and really, what are we trying to fix in one specific patient is going to look different from the next patient I see in that day.

For example, there are certain clinical manifestations of MPNs that need specific treatment approaches and maybe honing in on trying to help one clinical issue.

So, first of all, identifying the disease process – that’s No. 1. What is the diagnosis? No. 2: Coming up with a goals of care plan with the patient. What is causing them the most difficulty in their everyday life, and how are we going to fix that? That’s generally where I start.

Then, I discuss with the patients the different options for treatment, which either include therapies that are FDA-approved or enrolling in a clinical trial. And then, we really talk about pluses and minuses for each of these therapeutic decisions.

Patients may have different comorbidities, so they may suffer from different chronic diseases that may impact the treatment that is chosen with the patient and their provider, as well as discussing stem cell transplant, which we haven’t talked much about, but stem cell transplant is an option, and at this point, the only curative therapy for patients with myelofibrosis. And so, determining whether or not transplant is in the patient’s best interest is also a topic of discussion when deciding on therapy approach.