It is acknowledged that a cancer diagnosis can generate distress and anxiety in patients. This distress varies greatly and may be underreported by patients, or unidentified by health workers1 . The Supportive Care Policy for Victoria emphasizes routine, individualized supportive care screening at key points in the cancer journey2 . Screening at the first medical oncology consultation embraces this, aiming to identify potential and actual support needs and connect all patients with appropriate services at an early stage.
Border Medical Oncology (BMO) is a private practice in Wodonga who service a geographically large area and work closely with both public and private services across the region. Supportive care screening at BMO commenced in November 2012 and was modeled on a previous project that identified benefits of early contact with a care coordinator for older patients.
This project asks all patients new to BMO to complete a screening tool prior to the first appointment. Patients also attend an interview with a care coordinator/support nurse following the oncologist consultation to discuss issues raised in the screening tool. The nurse completes a summary sheet outlining the discussion and any referrals made. This is forwarded to the treatment team.
A preliminary evaluation identified that patients found the screening tool to be appropriate and the interview with the nurse very helpful in clarifying information and providing a contact for support. Clinical staff, including medical oncologists, were generally supportive of the screening initiative. Problems identified include agencies not receiving the summary sheet or tools in a timely way, overlapping with other screening systems (eg. in oncology units), and the risk of overburdening patients with information. Data collected to date will be presented.
This initiative holds several important benefits for patients but will require ongoing collaboration to refine the model and ensure its sustainability.