Patient’s Desire and Real Availability Concerning Supportive Measures Accompanying Radical Prostatectomy: Differences between Certified Prostate Cancer Centers and Non-Certified Centers Based on Patient-Reported Outcomes within the Cross-Sectional Study Improve

Abstract

Certification as a prostate cancer center requires the offer of several supportive measures to patients undergoing radical prostatectomy (RP). However, it remains unclear how patients estimate the relevance of these measures and whether the availability of these measures differs between certified prostate cancer centers (CERTs) and non-certified centers (NCERTs). In 20 German urologic centers, a survey comprising questions on the relevance of 15 supportive measures was sent to 1000 patients at a median of 15 months after RP. Additionally, patients were asked to rate the availability of these measures using a four-item Likert scale. The aim of this study was to compare these ratings between CERTs and NCERTs. The response rate was 75.0%. In total, 480 patients underwent surgery in CERTs, and 270 in NCERTs. Patients rated 6/15 supportive measures as very relevant: preoperative medical counselling concerning treatment options, a preoperative briefing answering last questions, preoperative pelvic floor exercises (PFEs), postoperative PFEs, postoperative social support, and postoperative rehabilitation addressing physical fitness recovery. These ratings showed no significant difference between CERTs and NCERTs (p = 0.133–0.676). In addition, 4/9 of the remaining criteria were rated as more detailed by patients in CERTs. IMPROVE represents the first study worldwide to evaluate a patient-reported assessment of the supportive measures accompanying RP. Pertinent offers vary marginally between CERTs and NCERTs.

Patient Benefits of Radical Prostatectomy in Certified Prostate Cancer Centers: Comparative Results from the Multicenter IMPROVE Study

“…These include the establishment of a structured network among specialized departments, transferring doctors, encounter groups, and the clinic. Additionally, supportive measures such as psychooncological support, outreach services, and rehabilitation programs must be provided for the patients [21]. To enhance surgical outcomes, oncological criteria such as the annual caseload of RPs, PSM rate, and NS rate are evaluated.…”

Value-Based Health Care for Prostate Cancer Centers by Implementing Specific Key Performance Indicators Using a Balanced Score Card

“…Furthermore, postoperative PROMS should be assessed using the questionnaires, as well as postoperative complications using the Clavien-Dindo and radiation therapy complications using the Common Terminology Criteria of Adverse Events (CTCAE) classification [19,25]. All these KPIs are directly related to the need to deliver value-based health care to patients suffering from local PC with oncological security and reduction in potential side effects [18,56]. They can be easily applied using questionnaires and have been demonstrated to be feasible in the improvement of side effects of PC treatment [57,58].…”

“…All these KPIs monitor actions for sufficient high-quality oncological PC care with reduced side effects, which is important to the long follow-up period of these patients. They are easy to apply and have been proven to improve the quality of care [17,56].…”

Impact of patients' health insurance status on the type of radical prostatectomy for localized prostate cancer in Germany: An observational analysis based on the multicentric IMPROVE study

“…In this study, 20 urological clinics in Germany were requested to report data of their most recent consecutive 50 radical prostatectomies in 2021 (in addition to clinical and histopathological criteria, demographic and functional aspects of patients were assessed using a questionnaire). [3][4][5] Among the initially contacted 1,000 patients, a response rate of 75% was achieved.…”