Abstract

Objectives: Determine how general practitioners (GPs) manage patients with cancer symptoms.

Design: GPs reviewed 24 video-vignettes and case notes on patients with cancer symptoms and indicated whether they would refer the patient and/or prescribe medication, and/or undertake further investigation. According to available guidelines, all cases warranted a referral to a specialist or further investigations.

Setting: Australian primary care sector.

Participants: 102 practising GPs participated in this study, including trainees.

Interventions: The research was part of a larger randomised controlled trial testing a referral pro forma; however, this paper reports on management decisions made throughout the study.

Primary and secondary outcome measures: This paper reports on how the participants would manage the patients depicted in each vignette.

Results: In more than one-in-eight cases, the patient was not investigated or referred. Patient management varied significantly by cancer type (p<0.001). For two key reasons, colorectal cancer was the chosen referent category. First, it represents a prevalent type of cancer. Second, in this study, colorectal cancer symptoms were managed in a similar proportion of options—that is, prescription, referral or investigation. Compared with vignettes featuring colorectal cancer participants were less likely to manage breast, bladder, endometrial, and lung cancers with a ‘prescription only’ or ‘referral only’ option. They were less likely to manage prostate cancer with a ‘prescription only’, yet more likely to manage it with a ‘referral with investigation’. With regard to pancreatic and cervical cancers, participants were more likely to manage these with a ‘referral only’ or a ‘referral with investigation’.

Conclusions: Some patients may receive a delayed cancer diagnosis, even when they present with typical cancer symptoms to a GP who can access relevant diagnostic tests.

Keywords

cancer patients, cancer diagnosis, cancer management

Link to Publisher Version (URL)

http://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/5/9/e008525.full

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