As a member of the child's medical caregiver team, the Hematology-Oncology physician has two roles.

First every patient has a primary Hematology-Oncology physician. This primary physician is the person who develops and directs the evaluation, the diagnosis, and the treatment plan that the rest of the care team will follow.  Having a primary physician provides the patient with a physician who knows the "big picture" and who will follow them over time through various stages of their treatment,  hospitalizations and clinic appointments.  They and the other primary caregivers on the team provide the essential continuity of care that is important to the successful treatment of the child.  The patient's primary Hematologist/Oncologist also takes on the lead role of coordinating all aspects of the child's care so that even when physician specialists outside Hematology-Oncology see and participate in the patient's care, all is done in a coordinated effort. That is, "the left hand knows what the right hand is doing!!"  Your primary Hematologist/Oncologist will be there for all the important events, discussions, and decisions as they arise throughout your child's treatment course.

Second, the Hematology/Oncology physicians round on each other's patients. At Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics, our physicians have both patient care responsibilities, research and administrative responsibilities. As an academic institution, Children's Mercy encourages these other responsibilities in its physicians so that the children of Kansas City may have available to them the most advanced or "cutting edge" medical therapies for their illnesses. The Hematology/Oncology physicians take this extra responsibility very seriously as they know that it has been this research that now permits so many children with cancer to be cured.  So, when your primary physician is not working directly with your child or another child, they are busy in their research efforts or program development efforts, with the hope of improving the chances of cure for children with cancer.  To allow this to happen, the physicians share in the care of the children who are admitted to the hospital for their evaluation and treatment.

You will often have the other Pediatric Hematology/Oncology physicians as your "attending" physician when you are admitted to the hospital. These physicians are responsible for the day to day care of your child while they are in the hospital. Be assured, that in the system developed to ensure the best care possible for your child, this is done in close communication and coordination with your child's primary Hematology/Oncology physician. We also know that your child benefits from having many physicians review your child's treatment course as each brings different experience to the care of your child and provides your primary doctor with valuable suggestions.