Evaluating the quality of psychosocial care in outpatient medical oncology settings using performance indicators

Objective: An American Psychosocial Oncology Society workgroup has developed indicators of the quality of psychosocial care that can be measured through review of medical records. The present report describes the first large‐scale use of these indicators to evaluate psychosocial care in outpatient medical oncology settings. Methods: Medical records of 1660 colorectal, breast and non‐small cell cancer patients first seen by a medical oncologist in 2006 at 11 practice sites in Florida were reviewed for performance on indicators of the quality of psychosocial care. Results: Assessment of emotional well‐being was significantly less likely to be documented than assessment of pain (52 vs 87%, p