AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY INITIATIVE TO DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT RISK-STRATIFIED CANCER SURVIVORSHIP CARE

Abstract

Cancer follow-up care that meets survivors’ unique needs cannot be provided solely by medical oncology teams due to the shortage of oncologists nor entirely by the primary care workforce, which has little training in the needs of cancer survivors. A risk-stratified approach that matches the intensity of care with patient need can optimize both patient outcomes and efficient use of the healthcare system, and is in use in other countries like the United Kingdom. The American Cancer Society and the American Society of Clinical Oncology brought together multiple stakeholders to assess the data on risk-stratified follow-up care and create a blueprint for next steps to implement this care in the United States. In addition, the American Cancer Society will be working with stakeholders to identify and prioritize gaps in the science needed to create and implement an evidence-based and efficient risk-stratified model for survivorship care in the United States.