ACHIEVING THE CoC STANDARD FOR PSYCHOSOCIAL DISTRESS SCREENING

•Melissa Wright, LMSW, OSW-C Gilda’s Club of the Quad Cities

•Carma Herring, RN, MS, OCNExecutive Director, John Stoddard Cancer Center

Objectives:

Identify the new Commission on Cancer (CoC) standard for psychosocial distress screening

Discuss the value of distress screening in patient-centered care

Identify a pivotal visit as it relates to the CoC Standard

CoC Standard:“The Cancer Committee develops and implements a process to integrate and monitor on-site psychosocial distress screening and referral for the provision of psychosocial care.”

History:2007 report of the IOM “Cancer Care for the Whole Patient: Meeting Psychosocial Health Needs.”

NCCN “Distress should be recognized, monitored, and documented and treated promptly at all stages of the disease.”

Purpose of the Standard:To develop a process to incorporate the screening of distress into the standard care of oncology patients and provide identified patients with resources.

Pivotal Visit-Determined by each program

“Time of greatest risk for distress”

Examples: *Time of diagnosis*Presurgical/Postsurgical visit*Initial Chemotherapy administration*Visit to Radiation Oncologist

Process:

TimingAt inpatient admission

MethodSocial Worker meets with patient

ToolsNCCN Distress Screening Tool

Assessment & ReferralPhysician signature

DocumentationScanned into EMR

Implementation:

Trial in JulyMeasurement began in in August

2012 PATIENTS

DISTRESS SCREENING

TOOL OFFERED

DISTRESS SCREENING

TOOL COMPLETED

AVERAGE DISTRESS LEVEL

CONSULTS REQUESTED

CONCERNS IDENTIFIED

AUGUST 87 55 52 6.24 39 70

SEPT 121 74 41 5.18 42 34

GOOD THINGS---

• Things to change?