A new role
In 2013, Texas Children’s Cancer Center created the new Oncology Patient Care Coordinator
(PCC) role. The PCC partners with the patient’s primary care provider to coordinate facets
of patient care. He or she strives to ensure patient educational needs are met, develops and
refines programs to enhance compliance with treatment regimens, schedules appointments
and assists with the care continuum for the pediatric oncology patient.
The Oncology Patient Care Coordinator reports to nursing leadership but works closely with
leaders of the various clinical teams and their provider partners daily to determine that the
patients’ clinical and scheduling needs are met.
Having a nurse in this role has enhanced communication with care providers and helped
reduce the potential for error. It also improved compliance with treatment regimens and the
delivery of patient-centered care. Providing care tailored to the specific needs of the patient
positively impacted patient satisfaction scores, provided better access to care, improved
patient experience and helped remove patient barriers. The new role provided greater
efficiency for providers, eliminated the need for them to coordinate the intricacies of patient
care and improved patient flow throughout the clinic.
