Trends in Follow-up and Preventive Care for Colorectal Cancer Survivors

• Published in: Journal of general internal medicine : JGIM 2008-03, Vol.23 (3), p.254-259
• Main Authors: Snyder, Claire F., Earle, Craig C., Herbert, Robert J., Neville, Bridget A., Blackford, Amanda L., Frick, Kevin D.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Age Factors; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Attitude of Health Personnel; Biological and medical sciences; Colorectal cancer; Colorectal Neoplasms - diagnosis; Colorectal Neoplasms - mortality; Colorectal Neoplasms - therapy; Combined Modality Therapy; Continuity of Patient Care - standards; Continuity of Patient Care - trends; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Follow-Up Studies; General aspects; Humans; Internal Medicine; Male; Mammography; Medical sciences; Medicare; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Middle Aged; Miscellaneous; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local - epidemiology; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local - prevention & control; Oncology; Original; Original Article; Outcome Assessment, Health Care; Physicians; Practice Patterns, Physicians; Prevention and actions; Preventive medicine; Primary care; Probability; Prognosis; Public health. Hygiene; Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine; Registries; Retrospective Studies; Risk Assessment; SEER Program; Sex Factors; Surveillance; Survivors; Time Factors; Trends; United States
• ISSN: 0884-8734; 1525-1497
• DOI: 10.1007/s11606-007-0497-5

Background As cancer patients transition from treatment to survivorship, the responsibility of primary care providers (PCPs) versus oncology specialists is unclear. Objectives To explore (1) physician types (PCPs versus oncology specialists) survivors visit during survivorship year 1, (2) preventive care received, (3) how preventive care receipt relates to physician types visited, and (4) trends in physician types visited and preventive care received over time. Design Retrospective cross-sectional study of 5 cohorts of cancer survivors in survivorship year 1. Subjects Twenty thousand sixty-eight survivors diagnosed with stage 1–3 colorectal cancer between 1997 and 2001. Measurements Using the SEER-Medicare database, we assessed the mean number of visits to different physician types, the percentage of survivors receiving preventive services, how receipt of preventive services related to physician types visited, and trends over time in physician visits and preventive care. Results There was a trend over time of increased visits to all physician types, which was statistically significant for oncology specialists and other physicians ( p