As the number of cancer survivors increases, there is growing recognition that standardised follow-up schedules do not always meet individual patients’ needs or fit within the constraints of a strained healthcare system. Guidelines allow for more personalised follow-up care, but concrete tools and workflows to operationalise this are lacking. This project aims to develop and test a structured approach to personalise follow-up after curative treatment for colon and breast cancer, ensuring it is feasible and acceptable for both patients and professionals across care settings. The workflow is set up in co-creation with involved hospital departments at the regional hospital Ommelander Ziekenhuis Groningen (OZG), and is centered around the collection and combination of key information to tailor follow-up. This includes medical risk assessment, patient goals and preferences, and relevant health or social context from primary care, including comorbidities and psychosocial factors. This structured information can support shared decision-making about the content, intensity, and provider of specific aspects of follow-up care.
Successful implementation of personalised follow-up care will contribute to meaningful and appropriate care for people with cancer. By adjusting the intensity and content of follow-up to medical risks, treatability, and patient preferences, we can reduce overtreatment and unnecessary use of healthcare resources, while improving the quality of care experienced by patients. This can both benefit patients and support a more sustainable healthcare system, in which available resources are used more efficiently.
University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG)
Department of Primary and Long-term Care
Internal postcode FA21
P.O. Box 196
9700 AD Groningen
UMCG
Department of Primary and Long-term Care
Oostersingel | entrance 47 | building 50 | 2nd floor
Groningen
The Netherlands
