Shared Care: Patient-Centered Management After Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation

Shared Care: Patient-Centered Management After Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation

This research study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of allowing patients who have had a hematopoietic cell transplant to receive some of their post-transplant care with a local oncologist rather than returning to the transplant center for all of their follow-up.

Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation (HCT) - also known as bone marrow transplant - is only available at select centers in the United States which can collect and store stem cells, as well as care for patients before their new immune system cells take hold. For this reason, many patients who undergo HCT live at great distances from their HCT center. Also, after hospital discharge, the first 180 days post-HCT are very important, as patients must be managed closely with frequent follow-up visits.

A potential way to make life easier for HCT patients is to allow some of the post-transplant care to be provided by local oncologists who practice closer to where patients live. This could reduce the burden on patients and their caregivers; however, it is not known if a shared care model would ultimately benefit them. The investigators want to assess the effectiveness of a Shared Care program which allows patients to receive half of their post-HCT care at the HCT center, and the other half with their local oncologist

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age >= 18 years of age
• Scheduled to receive an allogeneic HCT at the Dana-Farber Inpatient Hospital or BWH under the care of a DFCI physician
• Residence in New York, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, or Massachusetts
• Referred from or live less than 1 hour from one of the local participating centers.
• Ability to read English (to fill out standard QOL forms)

Exclusion Criteria:

• Age <18 years of age
• Scheduled to receive an autologous HCT
• Has received an allogeneic transplant in the past; scheduled to receive a second allogeneic transplant
• Did not receive an allogeneic HCT at Dana-Farber
• Does not live in New York, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, or Massachusetts