Treatment summaries, follow-up care instructions, and patient navigation: could they be combined to improve cancer survivor's receipt of follow-up care?

PURPOSE: Cancer survivors require follow-up care to ensure early detection of recurrence, management of late/long term effects, preventive screening for early detection of second primary malignancies, as well as other forms of preventive care. But not all survivors receive necessary follow-up care. Combining survivorship care plans and patient navigation may be a successful strategy to improve survivor's receipt of necessary follow-up care.
METHODS: Using data from the 2010 LIVESTRONG online survey of cancer survivors (N = 3854), this study tested associations between receipt of follow-up care instructions (FCI) and treatment summaries (TS) paired with patient navigation (PN), and survivor's receipt of cancer surveillance, preventive cancer screening, and attendance at regular medical appointments.
RESULTS: Survivors who received FCI, TS, and patient navigation were the most likely to report attendance at all medical appointments (aOR 4.17, 95% CI 2.30, 7.57, p ≤ .001) and receipt of preventive cancer screening (aOR 3.56, 95% CI 2.28, 5.55, p ≤ .001).
CONCLUSIONS: Likelihood of receiving follow-up care was greatest when survivors received FCI, TS, and PN. This pairing appeared to be most beneficial for survivor's attendance at medical appointments and receipt of preventive cancer screening. IMPLICATIONS FOR CANCER SURVIVORS: By improving attendance at medical appointments and prevention cancer screening, pairing SCP and PN could benefit survivors through reduced recurrence, earlier recurrence detection, and prevention of second primaries.