News Brief

The Washington Post Health section reports on the use of e-mail to get better information on cancer patients’ side effects and to encourage communication in face-to-face visits.

The results of 106 patients’ experiences were reported in a November, 2007, issue of Journal of Clinical Oncology. Researcher Ethan Basch, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, designed the e-mail side-effect reporting system.

Key Findings from Study

- “77 percent of patients who logged on to the study’s secure Web site said the system improved communication
with their doctors. (Emphasis added).

- “60 percent felt more in control of their care.” (Emphasis added)

From The Post:

“Basch’s work echoes a growing theme in health care: that patients are the most discriminating judges of factors that cannot be counted in a blood sample or weighed on a scale. For more than a decade, doctors have relied on patients to monitor pain; now patient ratings of other subjective events are starting to gain traction, both in routine care and in clinical drug trials.” (Emphasis added)

Source: The Washington Post, Health section, December 25, 2007