Telehealth Serious Illness Care Program for Older Adults with Hematologic Malignancies: A single-arm pilot study.

Older patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) feel shocked and bewildered when diagnosed. Serious illness conversations (SICs) may increase disease understanding and preparations for the future. However, SICs often happen late, due in part clinician-perceived patient discomfort. Telehealth may promote patient comfort by allowing SICs to take place at home. This study assesses the feasibility and usability of a telehealth-delivered Serious Illness Care Program (SICP) for older adults with AML and MDS. We conducted a single-arm pilot including 20 older adults with AML and MDS. Feasibility was measured using retention rate: >80% considered feasible. Usability was measured using telehealth usability questionnaire (TUQ, range 1-7): >5 considered usable. We collected other outcomes including acceptability and disease understanding and conducted post-visit qualitative interviews to elicit feedback. Hypothesis testing was performed at α=0.10 due to the pilot nature and small sample size. Retention rate was 95% (19/20); mean TUQ scores were 5.9 (SD 0.9) and 5.9 (SD 1.1) for patients and caregivers, respectively. We found the SICP to be acceptable. The majority of patients found the SICP to be very or extremely worthwhile (88.2%, 15/17) and it increased closeness with their clinician (75.0%, 12/16). After their visit, patient estimates of curability and overall life expectancy aligned more closely with those of their clinicians. In qualitative interviews, most patients said they would recommend this program to others (89.5%, 17/19). This study demonstrated that delivery of the telehealth SICP to older patients with AML and MDS is feasible, usable, and acceptable. This trial is registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as NCT04745676.