Recommendations for enhancing clinical trials education: a review of the literature.

This study aims to apply the evidence-based practice (EBP) process to determine the factors that influence patients' understanding of, participation in, and satisfaction with clinical trials, the informed consent process, and treatment decisions and to make recommendations for improving clinical trials education. Beginning with evidence retrieval, the authors identified key search terms and searched MEDLINE--Ovid, MEDLINE--PubMed, and the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature to identify articles published between July 2001 and July 2006 that highlighted clinical trials education. The articles were reviewed for clinical trials patient education information, clinician methods of communicating clinical trial information to patients, and patient satisfaction with the clinical trials process, including the informed consent process. As a result, practice changes were recommended for the patient/family, staff/community, and institution. From the literature review, 81 articles were identified. Recurring themes included decision-making, patient education, staff education, and pediatrics. Most articles focused on methods and strategies aimed at improving education at the patient/family, staff/community, and institutional levels. The issues surrounding clinical trial education are complex due to multiple variables interfering with poor patient understanding of, participation in, and satisfaction with clinical trial treatment decisions. On the basis of our findings, we recommend that clinicians involved in educating patients, families, staff, and communities about clinical trials have an awareness of and understanding for very complex issues.

Innovative Strategies for Decreasing Blood Collection Wait Times for Patients in Early-Phase Cancer Clinical Trials.

PURPOSE: Long wait times are a primary source of dissatisfaction among patients enrolled in early-phase clinical trials. We hypothesized that an automated patient check-in system with readily available display for increasing awareness of waiting intervals would improve patient flow and use of our rooms, with decreased turnover time and increased throughput. METHODS: We recorded in-room wait times for patients seen in our clinic and observed the logistics involved in the blood collection process to delineate causes for delays. We then implemented a three-step strategy to alleviate the causes of these delays: (1) changing the collection of materials and the review of faxed orders, (2) improving our LabTracker automated database system that included wait time calculators and real-time information regarding patient status, and (3) streamlining lower complexity appointments. RESULTS: After our intervention, we observed a 19% decrease in mean wait times and a 30% decrease in wait times among patients waiting the longest (95th percentile). We also observed an increase in staff productivity during this process. Modifications in LabTracker provided the biggest reduction in mean wait times (17%). CONCLUSION: We observed a significant decrease in mean wait times after implementing our intervention. This decrease led to increased staff productivity and cost savings. Once wait times became a measurable metric, we were able to identify causes for delays and improve our operations, which can be performed in any patient care facility.