Telehealth Based Synchronous Navigation to Improve Molecularly-Informed Care for Patients With Lung Cancer

Telehealth Based Synchronous Navigation to Improve Molecularly-Informed Care for Patients With Lung Cancer

The goal of this trial is to design and test a telehealth nurse navigation intervention for patients with suspected locally advanced/metastatic NSCLC to improve timely molecularly-informed treatment recommendations through early integration of concurrent molecular testing.

The overarching goal of this pilot trial is to design and test a nurse navigation intervention delivered via telehealth for patients with suspected locally advanced/metastatic NSCLC to improve timely molecularly-informed treatment recommendations through early integration of concurrent molecular testing (i.e., tumor tissue and plasma-based molecular testing or plasma only when tumor tissue is insufficient/unavailable). The central hypothesis is that providing telehealth nurse navigation to support completion of concurrent molecular testing will result in higher rates of comprehensive testing, improved timeliness of molecularly-informed treatment recommendations (primary endpoint), earlier initiation of molecularly-informed treatment, more meaningful patient-clinician communication, and higher levels of overall satisfaction among patients and clinicians. Drawing from systematic evidence on the role of navigation for coordination of cancer care and informed by insights from communication science and behavioral economics, the specific telehealth strategy to be tested is synchronous telehealth nurse navigation in combination with default ordering of plasma-based testing.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Aged 18 years or older
• Based on cross-sectional imaging, suspected to have locally advanced/metastatic NSCLC (as determined by the evaluating clinician)
• Scheduled for an appointment in the lung cancer evaluation clinic

Exclusion Criteria:

• Are not suspected to have locally advanced/metastatic NSCLC
• Have a concurrent active malignancy