Continuity In Cancer Care - Can We Measure Patient Experiences?

Main Category: Cancer / Oncology
Also Included In: Radiology / Nuclear Medicine
Article Date: 21 Aug 2009 - 1:00 PDT

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Modern high-quality cancer care involves a succession of different treatments (surgery, radiotherapy, drug treatments), delivered by multi-disciplinary teams of professionals over a period of time. Yet, from a patient perspective, the involvement of a large number of medical staff may have a negative impact on the continuity of care that patients receive.

At the Medical Oncology Unit, Leeds Cancer Centre, Leeds, UK, we set out to assess patient self-reported experiences of continuity and co-ordination of their cancer care.

A new Medical Care Questionnaire (MCQ) was developed and tested in a total of 677 cancer patients. Three key elements of continuous care were identified; measured by the subscales in the questionnaire: 1) Communication between patients and professionals; 2) Continuity of medical information between different professionals; and 3) Patient preferences to see s usual physician.

The questionnaire would be a valuable and suitable patient-reported measure to be used in busy oncology practice or clinical trials.

Says Dr Velikova- "High quality cancer care must not only deliver safely complex treatments, but aim to maximise outcomes important to patients and their families. Having a validated measure of patient experiences during cancer care will help development and evaluation of service improvement programmes."

This will be discussed in Value in Health, the official journal of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and outcomes Research.

Value in Health (ISSN 1098-3015) publishes papers, concepts, and ideas that advance the field of pharmacoeconomics and outcomes research and help health care leaders to make decisions that are solidly evidence-based. The journal is published bi-monthly and has a regular readership of over 4,000 clinicians, decision-makers, and researchers worldwide.

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