Gastrointestinal Cancer

Oncology Nursing and Primary care

With the current challenges in the healthcare system, patients and professionals are uncertain about the role, responsibilities, and communication patterns of primary care professionals during cancer care. Oncology and primary care nurses should be surveyed to attain current and preferred roles in cancer care across the care continuum. Who coordinates the care, which makes the referrals, who manages the comorbidities? What is the optimal interface between oncology and primary care nurses in care delivery? How does the environment of care support or impede bidirectional communication among providers and with the patient? We need to test interventions to determine what model produces the best patient-centered outcomes, the best coordinated care. We need to document that coordinated care improves outcomes