Although minority groups in the US face a number of barriers to receiving cancer care and information, a team of researchers says that these barriers could be tackled by using "patient navigators" – people trained to help patients "navigate" through the complex health care system.

The research team, from the University of Texas and the National Cancer Institute, describe how the first patient navigator program at Harlem Hospital, New York, helped underserved patients overcome barriers to obtaining prompt diagnostic and treatment services following abnormal or suspicious cancer screening tests.

In June 2005, the Patient Navigator Outreach and Chronic Disease Act of 2005 was enacted into public law in the United States, authorizing the Health Resources and Services Administration to administer a $25 million program to provide patient navigator services with the goal of reducing barriers and improving health-care outcomes. Patient navigators will be recruited, trained, and employed to provide services to underserved populations.

SOURCE:
Public Library of Science, published online July 10, 2006, (http://www.plos.org), PLoS Med 3(7): e193