The uncoordinated nature of cancer care pretty much applies to primary care as well:

While patients may need a wide array of doctors – radiologists, pathologists, radiation oncologists, cancer surgeons, reconstructive surgeons, medical oncologists – each may handle only one aspect of care. Patients often travel to different offices for each specialist or procedure. Sections of their records may be stored at each location.

Yet none of these doctors may step forward to serve as quarterback, says Gabriel Hortobagyi, president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, or ASCO. “Patients say, ‘I have five or six doctors, but no one is in charge of the show,’ ” says Hortobagyi, chair of breast medical oncology at Houston’s M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. “This is the perfect scenario for disrupted and piecemeal care.”