Cancer Experts Working Together

Each morning the Patient Empowered Care Team meets to discuss every patient the team will see that day. The team reviews and discusses each patient’s current situation, any issues or changes since they were last seen, symptoms, side effects and the overall treatment plan. By having the entire team around the table at the same time it allows every clinician to fully understand what aspects of the patient’s care need to be addressed. Once the patient arrives he or she is escorted to a comfortable exam room to meet with the clinic nurse. The clinic nurse reviews the patient’s current clinical status, changes since last visit, discusses any issues he or she might be experiencing and answers questions. Typically, patients are scheduled for two full hours with the entire care team. After the initial visit with the clinic nurse, patients typically spend about 30 minutes each with the medical oncologist, registered dietitian, nurse care manager and naturopathic oncology provider. After the initial appointment, the clinic nurse meets with the medical oncologist and discusses what she learned while with the patient. The medical oncologist then meets with the patient. As the head of the Patient Empowered Care Team, the medical oncologist will discuss all aspects of the patient’s treatment. At the conclusion of the meeting with the patient, the medical oncologist will meet with the naturopathic oncology provider to discuss the overall progress of treatment and any concerns the patient may have mentioned. When the naturopathic oncology provider meets with the patient, he or she discusses how natural therapies may be used to manage or decrease side effects, boost the immune system and maintain a high quality of life. Following the appointment the naturopathic oncology provider will meet with the registered dietician to discuss the details of the appointment and convey important information. During the meeting with the registered dietitian, steps to optimize the patient’s nutrition will be discussed. Some of the benefits of maintaining optimal nutrition include enhanced immune function, improved tolerance to treatment, decreased risk of infection and improved strength and energy. When the clinicians meet with each other after each appointment, all information from the previous appointments is passed along. This ensures that the patient will not have to repeat information at each appointment. The nurse care manager answers any questions about previous appointments and revisits the treatment plan to ensure everything is clear and the patient is comfortable with the approach. In addition, the nurse care manager serves as the patients’ single point of contact with the hospital when they are at home, assisting with prescriptions, symptom management and serving as the liaison to all of their care providers.