Use of Distress Thermometers in an Outpatient Oncology Setting (Practice Forum) (Report‪)‬

Despite the well-documented role of psychosocial factors in the use of medical services and treatment compliance (Ford, Trestman, Steinberg, Tennen,&Allen, 2(t04; Groessl&Cronan, 2000), social workers in medical settings frequently confront an array of challenges to integrating social work services in support of patients (Carlson et al., 2004; Gregorian, 2005). Many of these obstacles result from the difficulties inherent in establishing psychosocial assessment, referral, and treatment programs in an environment that focuses primarily on the delivery of medical care. The compelling need to manage patients' medical situations often leads to an underappreciation of the direct benefits resulting from meeting the psychosocial needs of patients and their families. These challenges are particularly intense in medical settings that specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of life-threatening diseases such as cancer. A cancer diagnosis and the resulting treatment result in high levels of stress for both the patient and the family (Hoffman, Zevon, D'Arrigo,&Cecchini, 2004; Jacobsen, 2006). However, in spite of this well-known outcome, less than 10 percent of newly diagnosed cancer cases in the United States are referred for psychosocial assistance (Kadan-Lottick, Vanderwerker, Block, Zhang,&Prigerson, 2005). In fact, there is no minimum standard for psychosocial care included in the Patient's Bill of Rights (HealthReform.gov, 2010).