Psycho-oncological care in certified cancer centres--a nationwide analysis in Germany.

BACKGROUND

Over the last few years, a nationwide voluntary certification system for cancer centres has been established in Germany. To qualify for certification, cancer centres must provide psycho-oncological care to every patient who needs it. The aim of this study was to find out how many patients have been treated by a psycho-oncologist in the certified centres.

METHODS

All cancer centres in Germany that were re-certified in 2010 provided data documenting how many patients with primary cancer received at least 30 min of psycho-oncological consultation in 2009.

RESULTS

Data from n = 456 certified cancer centres were available. In the centres, a total of 36,165 patients were seen by a psycho-oncologist for at least 30 min, representing 37.3% of all patients in the centres. The highest percentage of patients who received psycho-oncological care was found in breast cancer centres (66.7%), and the lowest in prostate cancer centres (6.8%). Half of the patients (50.0%) in gynaecological cancer centres, 37.7% in colon cancer centres and 25.4% in lung cancer centres received psycho-oncological care.

CONCLUSIONS

Compared with non-certified centres, the proportion of patients receiving psycho-oncological care in certified cancer centres has increased.