US radiation oncology practice patterns for posttreatment survivor care

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Radiation Oncology
• Cancer Survivorship Care

Background:

• Growing number of cancer survivors necessitates enhanced post-treatment care.
• Radiation oncologists traditionally integrate patient follow-up into their practice.

Purpose of the Study:

• Document current cancer survivor care patterns in radiation oncology.
• Identify barriers to implementing survivorship care plans (SCPs).
• Provide guidance for radiation oncology-specific SCPs.

Main Methods:

• Electronic survey distributed to US physician members of the American Society of Radiation Oncology.
• Data collected over 25 days in March 2014.
• Descriptive analysis of survey responses from 574 eligible providers.

Main Results:

• 97% of providers follow patients post-treatment, often long-term.
• Only 40% currently use SCPs, frequently internally developed templates.
• Top barriers to SCP implementation: cost (57%), duplicative plans (43%), lack of guidelines (40%).
• 87% find SCPs integrated into electronic medical records useful.

Conclusions:

• Patient follow-up is a significant component of radiation oncology practice.
• SCPs can improve patient communication but are not widely adopted.
• Barriers to SCP use identified, with a need for radiation oncology-specific guidance.