Coping With the Oncology Workforce Shortage: Transitioning Oncology Follow-Up Care to Primary Care Providers

The anticipated workforce shortage in medical oncology and burgeoning numbers of cancer survivors will challenge medical oncologists to consider transitioning well cancer survivors back to their primary care physicians. This process of transition is likely to be most effective and efficient if oncologists proactively establish plans for survivorship care that satisfy current national standards and are appropriate for the medical cultures of the communities in which they practice. Key take-home points are as follows: • Survey literature has demonstrated that primary care physicians expect to participate in the longitudinal follow-up of their patients diagnosed with cancer. • There are high-quality data demonstrating that primary care providers can safely provide follow-up care for patients with cancer. • A hybrid model in which oncologists and primary care providers share follow-up responsibilities (at least for the first several years of follow-up) might satisfy expectations of all parties. • Treatment summaries and survivorship plans can be effective ways of clearly communicating key elements of cancer diagnosis and treatment to patients and primary care providers. • Survivorship plans, which include more components than treatment summaries, will likely become a key feature of oncologic care in the future, as an increasing number of well cancer survivors have their follow-up care transitioned to primary physicians.