Prepare – Ask – Listen – Motivate (PALiMo): communication strategies in metastatic breast cancer (mBC)

Introduction:

A review of medical guidelines on the current standard of care revealed that though the current guidelines outline the importance of an effective communication between patients and healthcare professionals (HCPs), not all do provide de facto advice on how to achieve that, which can lead to misunderstandings and anxiety on both sides. Open, individual and respectful communication on the other hand can effectuate greater understanding, leading to more efficient therapy decisions.

Methods:

An international, multi-disciplinary team of patients, patient advocates, psycho-oncologists, doctors from the fields of gynaecology and oncology as well as oncology nurses from 26 countries worldwide proposed actions to be taken to make a difference in HCP-patient communication.

Results:

Comprehensive recommendations to improve communication between HCPs and patients were developed. The PALiMo Recommendations, which stands for: Prepare – Ask – Listen – Motivate, define a set of suggestions describing specific processes to assist HCPs in conversations with their patients, from the initial diagnosis to finding the appropriate treatment or talking about end-of-life care.

Conclusions:

As pointed out, HCP-patient communication needs to be further improved. The results of the discussions will be presented as a series of positions to be introduced to medical associations and other decision-makers within the mBC community and can be used to discuss improvements in HCP-patient communication. The PALiMo Recommendations are an important step towards creating a better environment for mBC patients and supporting HCPs.