Cancer Survivors and the Patient-Centered Medical Home.

Overview

Survivor care plans have been described as useful tools for enhancing the quality of follow-up care that cancer survivors receive after their active treatment has been completed. The relative success of current survivor care plan models is strongly dependent on the actions of individual patients. In this qualitative study of 33 cancer survivors, we explored patients' understanding of follow-up care and their motivations and resources for seeking care. Three types of survivor experiences were identified from narratives of patients treated in community oncology and NCI designated comprehensive cancer centers, ranging from non-activated patients who need enhanced health care communication and decision support to navigate their care to highly activated patients adept at navigating complex health care settings. Using the Patient-Centered Medical Home as a conceptual framework, we propose a research, policy and practice agenda that advocates for multi-faceted decision support to enhance cancer survivorship and follow-up care.