MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Dr. Marina George on the changing patient experience

Chicago - Dr. Marina George thinks deeply about elements of the patient experience that sometimes haven’t received enough consideration.

George is the vice president of inpatient medical operations and clinical operations at the MD Anderson Cancer Center. She talks about giving patients the support they need, clinically and emotionally.

She talks about the fact that cancer patients need to be able to actually rest in a hospital. She says it’s a challenge to ensure cancer patients get the mental rest they need.

“We have much longer lengths of stays compared to the general population, so they are going to have to recover when they are at the hospital,” George says. “So restfulness is something that we are focused on.”

George spoke with Chief Healthcare Executive® in a wide-ranging conversation about cancer care at the Fairmont Hotel in Chicago, while she was attending the Becker’s Healthcare 16th annual meeting. She says she welcomed the chance to talk to other physicians and healthcare leaders about the future of oncology.

She spoke with us about the patient experience, the growing population of younger adults with cancer, and the changes hospitals and health systems need to make in the coming years.

“Patient experience is core to MD Anderson,” she says.

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Patients as participants

George talks about the importance of providing a continuum of care throughout the patient’s hospital stay.

Patients need to be informed and active participants in their treatment plan, she says.

“How do we engage the patients in their own journey while they're in the hospital? That truly tells them that we care and their experience is going to be dramatically different,” George says.

MD Anderson Cancer Center works to engage patients to help understand their own objectives.

“We need their focus on their own goals of care,” George says.

At MD Anderson, physicians will ask patients what they want to achieve on a given day. A patient may respond that they don’t want to experience pain that day.

“That's an experience you're listening to,” she says. “And every time you check in with a patient, you want to ask, is that experience being met? Are we able to support you through that?”

“Doing all of that will make sure that patients remain engaged in the conversations about their healthcare needs,” George continues. “So when you're taking a decision about what medications to take or what the side effects could be, you would really have a shared participation from the patient, and that enhances the care and final outcome for the patient.”

Support beyond medicine

Patients battling cancer are understandably afraid, as they fear for their future and their family.

“It is scary for them to be in the hospital and not know what's going to happen,” she says. “The number one reason people are fearful is they don't know they don't know what to expect. They don't know what gaps in care exist. They don't know whether they have to advocate for themselves.”

Patients are also worried about what they are going to be facing after they leave the hospital, George says. Those fears, if not addressed, can lead to lack of engagement in the care plan.

MD Anderson’s social work group’s main focus is on “psycho-social support,” she says.

Plus, the health system’s nurses play a crucial role in providing essential care and also talking to patients about their fears, worries, values and goals, she says.

“We have training programs for communication skills, training for our nurses and for social workers, our case management, when we have to be the person, … helping the patient through their difficult fears. And to be able to do that, we all had to come together, agree to say this is a focus for us. So at MD Anderson, our mission is focused on that caring part.”

Younger cancer patients

More patients are being diagnosed with cancer at younger ages, according to the American Cancer Society. MD Anderson has also seen more young adults diagnosed with cancer.

“There is an expanding need and the population demographics are changing, both in the ambulatory setting as well as in the inpatient setting,” George says.

Younger adults with cancer have different needs in terms of care and treatment.

George says health systems need to be prepared to meet the needs of younger cancer patients.

“The younger generation of patients that we are going to see is going to expect healthcare differently,” George says.

Younger patients are going to want to work while they are getting treated. They are going to need additional support services. They are likely to pose more questions about the facilities where they will be treated.

“Caring for the younger patients with cancer is going to be a crucial strategic pinnacle where we have to change the way we think as well,” George says. “This is going to be a strategic advantage for an institution that's able to move fast and take care of these patients and be able to deliver care in those unique circumstances.”

How care will change

Hospitals are going to have to deal with changing patient demands over the next five years, she says.

“Higher acuity patients are going to be in the hospital,” she says. “Younger patients could be in the hospital. You can see the expectations of patients is going to be: Let me have it faster.”

Patients are going to want specifics regarding treatment. A patient needing a CT scan is going to want to know how long it’s going to take.

In an era of generative AI, patients want knowledge and information quickly. George sees the potential of AI to help reduce the workload of clinicians, such as streamlining documentation of patient records.

“We hope that experience changes for the patient, because now the human is connected with the patient more,” George says. “That is what we are hoping is going to change with AI.”

“That is going to support the patient front-line engagement, to have more conversations that are meaningful and goal-oriented for the patient,” she says.

George says one constant in cancer care is going to be helping patients when they are worried and addressing their concerns, from getting treatment to paying for care.

“How do we help them hold their hands as a human being? That's never going to change,” she says.