Standards of Care

UCSF Ocular Oncology Standards of Care

As a our patient you should expect:

To receive an adequate examination when being screened for eye disease.
To be informed of any findings and their significance, such as the differential diagnosis if any tumor is detected.
To receive all tests that are necessary to establish a diagnosis with a reasonable degree of certainty, including tumor biopsy if appropriate.
To be informed of the risks and benefits of each diagnostic procedure or process, including long-term surveillance, when treatment is delayed until tumor growth is observed.
To be given the opportunity to provide fully-informed consent for treatment (or non-treatment) of an ocular tumor.
To be given an adequate description of the eye and the tumor pathology so that you can understand the rationale of your treatment.
To be informed of all therapeutic options, including those not available at UCSF, with adequate explanation of the risks and benefits of each type of treatment.
To receive adequate assistance in selecting the optimal treatment, taking account of your particular condition, your needs and fears, and your opportunities and constraints.
To be informed of what to expect should you not have treatment.
To be helped to remember what was said, by means of written and/or audio information.
To be given sufficient time to decide what to do.
To have the opportunity of asking questions.
To have a reasonable number of close relatives or friends participating in the decision-making process, if you so wished.
To be informed of prognostic biopsy and genetic tumor typing, should you have a uveal melanoma, with an adequate explanation of the risks and benefits of this procedure.
To be informed of your prognosis with respect to your general health and your ocular condition, taking account of how much you wish to know.
To be informed of any residual effects of treatment.
To be informed of the impact of your disease and its treatment on your occupation, lifestyle, family, finances and other important aspects of your life.
To receive adequate counseling, orally or in writing, on how to cope with your disease, how to speak to your relatives and friends about it, how to deal with financial matters relating to your treatment, on any measures that might improve your chances of improving your health and survival prospects, and on other important matters.
To be informed of any patient advocacy groups.
To be given the opportunity of speaking to a patient who has previously gone through a similar experience to your own.
To receive any necessary psychological support and to be offered the opportunity of professional psychological support whether or not this seems necessary at the time.
To receive any news or information in an appropriate manner.
To have any procedures performed competently.
To be informed of any side-effects or complications.
To receive adequate pain control.
To receive multidisciplinary care, involving nurses, psychologists, oncologists and other experts, as required for your particular condition.
To be informed on screening for metastatic disease, with adequate explanation of all tests, including the risks and benefits of each one, and any costs that you may incur.
To be informed of any clinical trials that may be of relevance to you and to be notified of any sources of information that might be useful.
To be advised on advance directives and any other measures you should take to prepare your self for any eventuality while you are still well enough to do so.
To receive due respect at all times, with all providers taking account of any cultural and spiritual needs and beliefs.

We may not be able to achieve all these high standards every time, for reasons beyond our control, but we will make every effort to do so.

Please let us know if any standards are missing from this list.

Any suggestions for improving our quality of care would be greatly appreciated.

Bertil Damato, MD PhD
Director, Ocular Oncology Service
UCSF

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UCSF Ocular Oncology Standards of Care