Counselling and consenting patients to start nintedanib for progressive pulmonary fibrosis (PPF) in a group setting: results from a patient feedback survey

<bold>Background:</bold> Access to antifibrotic medication in the UK, for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and PPF, is only available from a tertiary specialist centre, following an ILD multi-disciplinary team discussion. Starting this treatment safely requires an in-depth discussion about risks vs benefits of treatment, a medical screener and the patient’s consent. Our centre piloted a group counselling clinic in 2022, to prevent a backlog of patients waiting to start nintedanib when the prescribing regulations were updated to include PPF as an indication for treatment. Method: a patient feedback survey was used to ensure the group approach is suitable and contributes to quality of care. The survey was handed out at the end of the session, and featured quantitative and qualitative measures. Quantitative data was collated and qualitative data evaluated for themes. <bold>Results:</bold> Feedback was collected over 13 sessions (Dec 22- Dec 23) and 80 forms were returned. The overall response was positive. 73 respondents scored 4 or 5 out of 5 for the question “how satisfied are you with the info you received today about your lung condition?” and 76 respondents scored 4 or 5 out of 5 for “how satisfied are you with the information you received today about nintedanib?”. Patients found the session informative and easy to understand. Qualitative data provided insight into what patients found valuable about group sessions, and how we can improve in the future. <bold>Conclusion:</bold> Group medication counselling clinics are well-received by patients and carers. Feedback on how to improve sessions will help us to develop the clinic for future sessions.