Implementing mainstream genetic counseling within the area‐wide network of the German Consortium Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer (GC‐HBOC): Satisfaction of primary care providers with the provided state‐of‐the‐art training by the Cologne Center

Abstract

The German Cancer Society (Deutsche Krebsgesellschaft DKG) has published a position paper to address the challenges of cancer patient care in the era of genomic medicine. The German Consortium Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer (GC‐HBOC) has implemented this recommendation in its care concept for families at risk. Core elements are the outcome‐oriented evaluation of structured and standardized clinical measures and reporting recommendations derived therefrom to primary care providers and patients. A cross‐sector network with certified breast cancer and gynecological cancer centers was founded in 2015, starting from the Cologne Center of the GC‐HBOC. To guarantee the knowledge transfer for mainstream genetic counseling, the Cologne center has established an educational program for physicians and specialized nurses in order to pilot trans‐sectoral knowledge transfer on risk assessment and risk‐stratified care. It consists of face‐to‐face lectures with written knowledge test, attending a genetic case conference and genetic counseling sessions with the opportunity to counsel under supervision. The lectures were accompanied by a structured evaluation of the participants' satisfaction and feedback of the needs in mainstream genetic counseling. Thereby, the network ensures that genetic counseling and testing is provided according to state‐of‐the‐art knowledge and allows physicians to participate in knowledge‐generating care outside the university setting and patients to receive care close to home. After multiple feedback cycles to improve the educational program, the GC‐HBOC, in cooperation with the German Cancer Society, has now adopted this concept and developed a common and uniform online curriculum funded by the Federal Ministry of Health. https://www.krebsgesellschaft.de/fortbildung‐familiaerer‐krebs.html.