The Cancer Precision Medicine Commons is a place for organization leaders to share information and explore opportunities for cross-tumor collaborations.

Our goal is to increase knowledge about, access to, and appropriate use of the latest oncology precision medicine tools.

Best Practices for Patient Education Resources

Webinar
May 22, 2024

Helpful Resources for Developing Patient Education Materials

The Commons has analyzed barriers and created rubrics to guide organizations in developing patient education on genetic testing for inherited cancer risks and on biomarker testing in cancer. These materials are available for download here.

Rubrics: Overarching Recommendations

Precision medicine and biomarker testing are complex topics that are difficult to convey in plain language.

When developing materials, it is important to focus on plain language, keep to an 8th grade level or below and, when possible, to develop multi-language, culturally sensitive resources that reflect the varied accessibility needs of your constituencies.

Shorter is better for most readers, particularly those with limited health literacy.

Consider using a health literacy calculator to gauge the literacy level of your materials. Materials that are brief and kept to one to two pages are best.

Patient education needs to include graphics and illustrations to communicate key points.

Make sure to include appropriate visual elements such as pictures and icons in addition to text. When sharing digitally, make sure alt text is included.

Get the rubrics

Financial and Administrative Barriers to Biomarker and Genetic Testing

Barriers to Biomarker Testing for Somatic Mutations in Cancer

  1. How do we know if a biomarker test is covered?

  2. How do we know which lab to send biomarker testing to?

  3. How are biomarker tests authorized?

  4. What if the patient's insurance plan denies the test?

  5. What if the patient is uninsured?

  6. Does the 14-day rule delay ordering the test for inpatients?

  7. Is the patient able to pay for costs associated with the testing?

  8. Overall resource burden

Barriers to Genetic Testing for Hereditary Cancer Syndromes

  1. How much is the test going to cost?

  2. How do we know if a test is covered?

  3. How do we know which lab to send it to?

  4. How are tests authorized?

  5. What if the patient's insurance plan doesn't cover testing?

  6. Overall resource burden

Get the summaries