Cancer therapies save and prolong many lives, but cancer care that focuses solely on eradicating tumors without addressing the patient’s general well-being can increase patients’ suffering, may compromise their ability to follow through on treatment, and falls short of achieving quality care, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine.
Cancer Care for the Whole Patient: Meeting Psychosocial Health Needs proposes a new standard of care under which all oncology care providers would systematically screen patients for distress and other problems; connect patients with healthcare or service providers who have resources to tackle these issues and coordinate care with these professionals; and periodically re-evaluate patients to determine if any changes in care are needed.
Many services and resources already exist, often at no cost to patients, but oncology providers are not proactively identifying patients’ needs and helping them find and use these resources, the report notes. Because many of these services are free or are reimbursable through health insurance providers and programs, the creation of new benefits or payment mechanisms would not be necessary for the most part, the report says. Access the report.
