Patient Preferences for Primary Care Provider Roles in Breast Cancer Survivorship Care

The increasing role of primary care and primary care providers (PCPs) in the continuing care of cancer survivors hinges on better communication between primary care and oncology teams; as well as a clearer definition of provider roles. This US based study of over 2000 breast cancer survivors has looked at what they prefer in terms of PCP roles for their care following breast cancer treatment. Nearly 80% preferred primary care providers handle their general preventive care and their comorbidity care but did not prefer PCPs as their providers for cancer screening and surveillance. In constrast women from minority backgrounds such as African-American or Asian women and women with less education displayed a greater preference for oncology-directed care. These results suggest that both patient and provider education about the ability of PCPs to provide cancer screening and surveillance may be beneficial and that the roles of PCPs in cancer care still need to be better defined, which may help improve care satisfaction and outcomes.
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