Psychosocial Oncology Care

Recommendation:

A psychosocial oncology program is available for patients and caregivers who are experiencing distress related to cancer diagnosis, treatment and survivorship.

Overview

The diagnosis and treatment of cancer causes levels of distress that vary from normal to severe and may interfere with treatment. The distress may be psychological, financial, social and/or behavioral. Psychosocial care of cancer patients and their caregivers requires referral to an individual with specialized skills and knowledge in oncology. These individuals may be oncology social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists, or other mental health professionals trained in psychosocial care. There are distress screening tools developed and used in cancer programs to determine the level of distress and services which may be needed.

Standard

• American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer, Optimal Resources For Cancer Care: 2020 Standards, Standard 5.2 Psychosocial Distress Screening

Certification

Oncology Social Work certification (OSW-C) is available through Board of Oncology Social Work

Resources to Help

• The National Comprehensive Care Network ( NCCN) Practice Guidelines for Distress Management
• The Association of Oncology Social Work, Standards of Practice in Oncology Social Work
• American Psychosocial Oncology Society
• Distress Screening for Oncology Patients Oncology Issues. January-February 2014.
• Psychosocial Distress Screening Lessons Learned from Three ACCC Member Programs: White Paper
• Handbook of Oncology Social Work: Psychosocial Care of People with Cancer. (Eds.)  Christ G, Messner C, Behar L. Oxford Publishing: 2015.
• Guidance for Determining Oncology Social Work Staffing Standards study information from Association of Oncology Social Work (AOSW). Download PDF.
  AOSW notes that these are preliminary data and will be used to inform further investigation on staffing ratio/recommendations by the Association of Oncology Social Work (AOSW).

Recommendations for Evaluating Distress Screening Programs

• Observe distress screening practices, particularly in terms of how screening is done across clinical settings.
• Collect data indicating that screening occurs as prescribed and that appropriate responses to screening occurred, when clinically indicated.
• Analyze data to identify groups at risk for not being screened or for inadequate psychosocial assessment and follow-up.
• Assess patient endpoints as measuring patient outcomes and/or endpoints are necessary to determine best practices.

Insurance Considerations

Reimbursements for psychosocial services are limited to clinical counseling with an assigned DSM 5 diagnosis.