Shared care in prostate cancer: a three-year follow-up

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate 3 year follow-up in patients with stable prostate cancer (PCa) managed in a shared care program by general practitioners (GPs) in collaboration with urological departments. PCa patients who have undergone curative treatment or endocrine therapy require long-term follow-up. Until recently, follow-up has primarily been managed by urologists at hospital-based outpatient clinics. However, new organizational strategies are needed to meet the needs of the growing number of elderly, comorbid cancer patients. These new organizational strategies target patients, GPs and specialists as joint stakeholders in the care and management of PCa.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this 3 year follow-up to a Danish shared care PCa trial, 530 patients, out of a total of 2585 patients, were outsourced to the GPs. Strict evaluation criteria were selected to assess compliance according to individually agreed follow-up and re-referral plans for patients and GPs, respectively.

RESULTS: This study included 426 (80.4%) out of the 530 PCa patients. Among these, 196 patients had initially undergone curative-intended treatment, whereas 230 patients underwent non-curative treatment. Ninety-one deaths occurred during the study period. Among the 425 patients who were alive, 335 (78.8%) gave consent for their medical records to be accessed. Overall, patient compliance was successfully met in 390 (91.5%) of the cases, while GP compliance was successfully met in 393 (92.3%) of the cases.

CONCLUSION: The shared care regimen for patient follow-up between the departments of urology and the local GPs had a high rate of patient and GP compliance.