Primary Care Providers’ Knowledge and Utilization of Survivorship Care Plans

Authors:

Christina Schaal (Presenter)
American Cancer Society

Alicia Rosales, St. Luke’s Mountain States Institute (MSTI)
Shelby Darland, St. Luke’s Mountain States Institute (MSTI)
Dan Zuckerman, St. Luke’s Mountain States Institute (MSTI)

Public Health Statement: The growing number of cancer survivors has created a shift in modern cancer care that has an increased focus on quality of life for survivors. This has established a need for a survivorship care plan (SCP) to assist in the transition of care after treatment, but a SCP is only useful if the primary care provider (PCP) is able to use the plan to better the mental and physical health of the patient post treatment.

Purpose: The Commission on Cancer (CoC) standard 3.3 requires that all patients who complete cancer treatment receive a SCP. To aid in care coordination, the standard also requires that the SCP be provided to the patient’s primary care provider (PCP).

Methods/Approach: The local chapter of the American Cancer Society, St. Luke’s Mountain States Institute (MSTI), and the Comprehensive Cancer Alliance for Idaho created an online survey aimed at assessing the utilization of the SCP in primary care clinics and the PCP’s comfort level carrying out the recommended surveillance. The survey link was distributed through email to approximately 300 PCPs across a large geographical area in varying sized practices.

Results: Sixty-three responses were received in 3 weeks, with 46 responses from physicians and 17 responses from advanced practice providers. All of the respondents said they care for cancer survivors in their practice, but 54% have never received a SCP. Twenty-nine reported having received a SCP and answered 8 questions related to how they use the SCP in practice. The majority refer to the SCP to monitor for recurrence, and 52% use it as a tool for coordination of care. Forty-eight percent use the SCP to manage comorbid conditions. Ninety-five percent of all respondents indicated they feel comfortable carrying out a surveillance plan provided by the oncologist for patients 2 years out from treatment. Sixty-four percent indicated they would like additional education about caring for cancer survivors. A common theme in comments included the desire for improved communication between oncologists and PCPs.

Conclusions/Implications: This standard was created in part to improve care coordination between oncologists and PCPs. More than half of the PCPs have not seen a SCP for their patients. Most indicated they are comfortable providing surveillance if they have a clear follow-up care plan from the oncologist. More than half want additional information about caring for cancer survivors. Future exploration could include assessment of barriers to communication and utilizing the SCP in practice.