Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS) for Managing Symptoms of Patients Following Thoracic Surgery

To test the effectiveness of the interactive voice response telephone system with a triage/feedback component that incorporates timely symptom assessment, feedback to physicians, critical treatment guidelines for managing selected symptoms (distress, sleep disturbance, shortness of breath, constipation, and pain) in a cohort of cancer patients during the first month post-thoracic surgery. This interactive voice response system (IVR) will be evaluated in a randomized clinical trial with an intervention group (IVR symptom assessment with triage) and a control group (IVR symptom assessment only). We hypotheses that: 1. Patients in the MDASI-IVR plus triage group will have less symptom burden (less symptom severity, less symptom related interference, and better satisfaction of symptom control, better physical and emotional well-being) over the month of the trial compared to the control group. 2. Patients in the MDASI-IVR plus triage group will have more frequent documentation of symptom management in line with treatment guidelines compared to the control group.

Sex

All

Minimum age

18 Years

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Patients scheduled for thoracic surgery for NSCLC, esophageal cancer and lung metastasis
2. Patients 18 years of age or older
3. Men and women of all ethnic groups who are English-speaking, and
4. Patients residing in the United States. (The IVR system is not yet available in other languages. The United States residency requirement (MDACC is an international referral center) will allow us to follow patients for the duration of the study.)

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Patients with a current diagnosis of psychosis or dementia
2. Patients who have difficulty understanding the intent of the study
3. Patients who cannot complete the assessment tools independently