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. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.