Ask Questions (ASQ): Implementation of a Communication Intervention to Improve Patient-Oncologist Communication in the Outpatient Medical Oncology Setting

Patient-centered communication is critical to providing high-quality care. In patient-provider clinical interactions, providers are responsible for several aspects of patient-centered communication. However, to reach the goal of providing the best possible treatments, patients should also actively participate by asking questions and expressing their concerns. Question prompt lists, simple lists of questions provided to patients before clinic visits to help them prepare for the appointment, have been tested in several medical contexts and patient populations, including among an underserved, minority population in Detroit, and have been shown to contribute to improved outcomes related to better communication quality. Using a RE-AIM framework, this descriptive, mixed methods, single-arm intervention study assesses the implementation of an evidence-based communication intervention (question prompt list), the "ASQ brochure". The ASQ brochure is designed to improve patient-oncologist communication and other outcomes by improving patient self-efficacy for managing patient-physician interactions. Investigators will recruit 225 patients and implement the ASQ brochure at seven Karmanos Cancer Center network sites. Participants are newly diagnosed patients with (Stages I-IV) cancer for which systemic therapy is likely a recommended treatment.