Prostate Cancer Supportive Care (PCSC) Program: A model for meeting an unmet need for patients with PC.

Abstract

308 Background: Prostate cancer (PC) patients (pts) face treatment-related sequelae that affect their quality of life. The PCSC Program was created in 2013 and is located in the Vancouver Prostate Centre’s urology clinic. It is a clinical, educational, and evidence-based program that addresses challenges experienced by PC pts from the time of diagnosis onward. The program consists of 8 “modules,” each designed to support a specific concern. Methods: We describe the operational details of the PCSC Program and its metrics. Results: The program consists of a Medical Director and Program Manager who articulate the mission, oversee the day-to-day operations, and hire and manage the allied health clinicians and administrative staff. Clinicians include two sexual health RNs (1.4 FTE), two pelvic floor physiotherapists, a nurse practitioner, a registered dietitian, two clinical exercise physiologists, and two clinical counselors (all 0.2 FTE). A sexual health urologist is in the clinic, and a medical oncologist delivers the metastatic disease module. As of 09/2023, 3562 pts registered for this no-cost program (Table). Pts choose modules relevant to their interests and needs. The program supports free language interpretation services to non-English speaking pts. Translation of education session recordings is currently underway. In 4/2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the real-time group education sessions and clinic appointments transitioned from in-person to hybrid delivery, with virtual options enabling the participation of pts from throughout British Columbia. PCSC maintains high patient satisfaction, as indicated by responses to patient satisfaction questionnaires. Conclusions: The need for PC supportive care is well recognized but may be challenging when the services are fragmented, costly, and time-consuming to orchestrate. All modules offered by the PCSC Program can be accessed with one registration and are conveniently housed in one location, which also facilitates clinician communications across disciplines. We attribute the success of our program and high patient satisfaction to this model and our team approach to the individual patient’s needs. [Table: see text]