title: Managing chronic myeloid leukemia: a coordinated team care perspective.
abstract: Treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) has seen dramatic progress in recent years with the development of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). To take maximum advantage of therapy with TKIs, compliance and good understanding of monitoring response to therapy are essential. We established a team that included a hematologist, a physician assistant (PA), and a nurse who work closely with a social worker, a pharmacist, and a research coordinator to assist patients throughout their journey with CML. The patient and the referring community oncologist were incorporated into this team. This coordinated team care approach takes advantage of each member's specific skills to provide patients with education about CML, encourage patients' strong involvement in tracking/monitoring results/response to therapy, and support patients with issues that arise throughout the long course of the disease. A low rate of noncompliance with clinic visits (3%) was an indirect measure of the impact of this approach. The inclusion of the referring oncologist in the team extended the tracking of monitoring results to the community practice. We conclude that a coordinated team care approach is feasible in the management of patients with CML. This approach provided patients with education and a good understanding of response to therapy and improved relations with the health care team.
authors.affiliation: Emory Healthcare, Atlanta, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Stacie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Holloway
authors.forename: Katharine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lord
authors.forename: Beverly
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bethelmie-Bryan
authors.forename: Marian W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Shepard
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Neely
authors.forename: Morgan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: McLemore
authors.forename: Satyanarayan K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Reddy
authors.forename: Aldemar
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Montero
authors.forename: William S
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Jonas
authors.forename: Sara Pierson
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Gladney
authors.forename: Shyam L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Khanwani
authors.forename: Silpa C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Reddy
authors.forename: Anup K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Lahiry
authors.forename: Leonard T
authors.initials: LT
authors.lastname: Heffner
authors.forename: Elliott
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Winton
authors.forename: Martha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Arellano
authors.forename: Hanna Jean
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Khoury
mesh_terms: D019468:Disease Management; D006801:Humans; D015464:Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000451:nursing; D010348:Patient Care Team; D016896:Treatment Outcome