Quantifying the psychosocial needs of cancer patients and associated provider workload to build PSO services into the funding model for systemic treatment in Ontario.

18 Background: As part of a broader set of provincial health funding reforms, Cancer Care Ontario (CCO) developed a new funding model for systemic treatment. A decision was made to build dedicated funding for psychosocial oncology (PSO) services into the model. The objective of this work was to estimate the psychosocial needs of cancer patients and the associated PSO provider workload to inform the incorporation of these services into the model. Methods: PSO clinicians formed advisory groups for six disciplines: social work, psychology, nutrition, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and speech language pathology. For each cancer type, treatment intent, and phase of the cancer journey, advisors were asked to estimate: 1) proportion of patients who need services, 2) length of an average visit, and 3) average number of visits needed to address patient needs. Groups utilized online surveys to generate estimates to serve as a starting point for discussion. Evidence was used to inform the advisory groups’ cons...