Patients' Experiences in a Dialogue-Based Outpatient Clinic Embedded Within Routine Oncology Care
- 1Osaka Saiseikai Nakatsu Hospital
Abstract
ObjectivesContemporary oncology has achieved remarkable advances in biomedical treatment while increasingly emphasizing patient-centered care. Nevertheless, routine oncology consultations must address multiple competing clinical priorities, potentially limiting opportunities for patients experiences to become visible. To address this gap, we established a Dialogue-Based Outpatient Clinic, a complementary patient-directed consultation model embedded within routine oncology care. This study explored the dimensions of patients experiences that became visible through this consultation model.
MethodsWe conducted a qualitative study of 44 consecutive patients who attended a Dialogue-Based Outpatient Clinic embedded within routine oncology care between 2021 and 2023. Patients attended the clinic either on their own initiative or following a recommendation from a healthcare professional who recognized that they were struggling. Regardless of how they came to the clinic, patients independently determined the consultation agenda.
ResultsOf the 44 patients, 13 (29.5%) sought biomedical information regarding diagnosis, treatment, or adverse effects, whereas 31 (70.5%) discussed concerns extending beyond biomedical issues. Reflexive thematic analysis of these 31 patients identified four interconnected themes: (1) making sense of a cancer diagnosis within ones own life; (2) negotiating treatment in relation to personal values and life priorities; (3) being treated for disease but not seen as a person; and (4) reconstructing life and identity through the cancer journey. Across all themes, patient-directed dialogue consistently revealed how patients understood cancer within the broader context of their lives rather than as an isolated biomedical condition.
ConclusionsPatient-directed dialogue within routine oncology care revealed dimensions of patients experiences that may be less readily recognized in conventional consultations. A complementary consultation model that allows patients to determine the agenda may provide opportunities for these experiences to become clinically recognizable.
Practice implications: Integrating patient-directed consultations into routine oncology care may provide clinicians with opportunities to recognize and address patients concerns that might otherwise remain outside the usual consultation agenda.
Related
- Patient-Provider Distance in Medicare Outpatient Oncology Telehealth Versus Office Visits, 2021-2023: Cross-Sectional Claims Analysis.
- Voices from the City’s Youth: A Qualitative Study of Perceptions and Experiences of Urban Outpatient Adolescents Exposed to Community Violence
- Partners’ experiences of induction of labour in inpatient and outpatient settings: a questionnaire-based qualitative study within the Swedish OutPatienT InductiON (OPTION) trial
- Reasons for encounter and recommended interventions in an interprofessional integrative oncology counseling program in outpatient care: a mixed-methods analysis of 1,693 consultation letters.
- Personalizing Structured Self-Help in the Moment: Students’ Experiences With Embedded AI Chatbots in a Guided Digital Mental Health Platform
BibTeX
@misc{yoshimura2026patients,
title = {{Patients' Experiences in a Dialogue-Based Outpatient Clinic Embedded Within Routine Oncology Care}},
author = {K. Yoshimura and S. Fujioka and P. M. Lewis and M. Hirata and M. Tani and K. Akazawa and N. Kohno},
howpublished = {medRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.64898/2026.10.01.26364357},
url = {https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.01.26364357v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Patients' Experiences in a Dialogue-Based Outpatient Clinic Embedded Within Routine Oncology Care
AU - K. Yoshimura
AU - S. Fujioka
AU - P. M. Lewis
AU - M. Hirata
AU - M. Tani
AU - K. Akazawa
AU - N. Kohno
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
PB - medRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.10.01.26364357
UR - https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.01.26364357v1
AB - ObjectivesContemporary oncology has achieved remarkable advances in biomedical treatment while increasingly emphasizing patient-centered care. Nevertheless, routine oncology consultations must address multiple competing clinical priorities, potentially limiting opportunities for patients experiences to become visible. To address this gap, we established a Dialogue-Based Outpatient Clinic, a complementary patient-directed consultation model embedded within routine oncology care. This study explored the dimensions of patients experiences that became visible through this consultation model. MethodsWe conducted a qualitative study of 44 consecutive patients who attended a Dialogue-Based Outpatient Clinic embedded within routine oncology care between 2021 and 2023. Patients attended the clinic either on their own initiative or following a recommendation from a healthcare professional who recognized that they were struggling. Regardless of how they came to the clinic, patients independently determined the consultation agenda. ResultsOf the 44 patients, 13 (29.5%) sought biomedical information regarding diagnosis, treatment, or adverse effects, whereas 31 (70.5%) discussed concerns extending beyond biomedical issues. Reflexive thematic analysis of these 31 patients identified four interconnected themes: (1) making sense of a cancer diagnosis within ones own life; (2) negotiating treatment in relation to personal values and life priorities; (3) being treated for disease but not seen as a person; and (4) reconstructing life and identity through the cancer journey. Across all themes, patient-directed dialogue consistently revealed how patients understood cancer within the broader context of their lives rather than as an isolated biomedical condition. ConclusionsPatient-directed dialogue within routine oncology care revealed dimensions of patients experiences that may be less readily recognized in conventional consultations. A complementary consultation model that allows patients to determine the agenda may provide opportunities for these experiences to become clinically recognizable. Practice implications: Integrating patient-directed consultations into routine oncology care may provide clinicians with opportunities to recognize and address patients concerns that might otherwise remain outside the usual consultation agenda.
ER -