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Review
. 2019 May 1;111(5):442-448.
doi: 10.1093/jnci/djy232.

Personalized Risk-Stratified Cancer Follow-Up Care: Its Potential for Healthier Survivors, Happier Clinicians, and Lower Costs

Deborah K Mayer  1   2 , Catherine M Alfano  3
Affiliations
Review

Personalized Risk-Stratified Cancer Follow-Up Care: Its Potential for Healthier Survivors, Happier Clinicians, and Lower Costs

Deborah K Mayer et al. J Natl Cancer Inst. .

Abstract

The growth in the number of cancer survivors in the face of projected health-care workforce shortages will challenge the US health-care system in delivering follow-up care. New methods of delivering follow-up care are needed that address the ongoing needs of survivors without overwhelming already overflowing oncology clinics or shuttling all follow-up patients to primary care providers. One potential solution, proposed for over a decade, lies in adopting a personalized approach to care in which survivors are triaged or risk-stratified to distinct care pathways based on the complexity of their needs and the types of providers their care requires. Although other approaches may emerge, we advocate for development, testing, and implementation of a risk-stratified approach as a means to address this problem. This commentary reviews what is needed to shift to a risk-stratified approach in delivering survivorship care in the United States.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Growth in the number of cancer survivors over time in the United States.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Coordinated strategies needed to develop personalized, risk-stratified cancer follow-up care.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

References

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