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Oncologists’ perspectives on post‐cancer treatment communication and care coordination with primary care physicians
Author(s) -
Klabunde C.N.,
Haggstrom D.,
Kahn K.L.,
Gray S.W.,
Kim B.,
Liu B.,
Eisenstein J.,
Keating N.L.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
european journal of cancer care
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.849
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1365-2354
pISSN - 0961-5423
DOI - 10.1111/ecc.12628
Subject(s) - medicine , family medicine , primary care , telephone survey , multivariate analysis , medical record , electronic medical record , electronic communication , medical care , cancer , nursing , telecommunications , marketing , computer science , business
Post‐treatment cancer care is often fragmented and of suboptimal quality. We explored factors that may affect cancer survivors’ post‐treatment care coordination, including oncologists’ use of electronic technologies such as e‐mail and integrated electronic health records ( EHR s) to communicate with primary care physicians ( PCP s). We used data from a survey (357 respondents; participation rate 52.9%) conducted in 2012–2013 among medical oncologists caring for patients in a large US study of cancer care delivery and outcomes. Oncologists reported their frequency and mode of communication with PCP s, and role in providing post‐treatment care. Seventy‐five per cent said that they directly communicated with PCP s about post‐treatment status and care recommendations for all/most patients. Among those directly communicating with PCP s, 70% always/usually used written correspondence, while 36% always/usually used integrated EHR s; telephone and e‐mail were less used. Eighty per cent reported co‐managing with PCP s at least one post‐treatment general medical care need. In multivariate‐adjusted analyses, neither communication mode nor intensity were associated with co‐managing survivors’ care. Oncologists’ reliance on written correspondence to communicate with PCP s may be a barrier to care coordination. We discuss new research directions for enhancing communication and care coordination between oncologists and PCP s, and to better meet the needs of cancer survivors post‐treatment.