Improving Care Coordination to Optimize Health Outcomes in Cancer Survivors

Most cancer survivors will follow-up with primary care at some point in the cancer continuum, but coordination between the oncology and primary care teams remains challenging. According to Drs. Linda Overholser and Carlin Callaway, who discussed the importance of care coordination to improve outcomes in cancer survivors at the NCCN 2019 Annual Conference, effective communication is needed between specialists and primary care providers and, when established, has been shown to improve treatment outcomes. Use of survivorship care plans, as well as adherence to the NCCN Guidelines for Survivorship, can further standardize the provision of quality oncology care.