Dr Fabian Lang on the Importance of Patient Involvement in CML Treatment Decisions

In a disease such as chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), shared treatment decision-making between providers and patients is key, said Fabian Lang, MD, of Goethe University Hospital in Frankfurt, Germany.

Transcript

What are the potential benefits of patient involvement in treatment decision-making for both the patients and health care providers?

Especially in CML, where we're talking about compounds and medications [that] have been taken over several years, an involved and shared decision-making is quite important in order to ensure compliance, and by ensuring compliance, you ensure efficacy. So if you want to treat and conduct your CML therapy properly, you have to make sure that you have an informed consent within this treatment.

What should providers keep in mind when involving patients in CML treatment decision-making, particularly when presenting multiple treatment options to patients?

It's quite difficult, so I think you have to decide beforehand which medication opportunities are there, and then you have to narrow to the most important points. So it's not like saying, "We've got to 5 medications at hand, so just choose one." That's got [to be], "We have this medication with these kinds of advantages, and there are these specific side effects," and that overall comes together to find a shared decision.