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Referral pathways in colorectal cancer: an audit of surgeons's records
Allan D Spigelman1, Shane W Pascoe, Mark F Harris
1University of New South Wales, St Vincent' s Clinical School, Cancer Services, St Vincents and Mater Health Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2010, Australia.
Purpose:
To explore the referral pathways of patients with newly diagnosed colorectal cancer to surgeons.
Method:
Australian surgeons from three states completed a questionnaire and their records were audited.
Results:
Thirty-three surgeons provided data on 530 patients seen in the preceding 12 months. The median time between colonoscopy and first surgical consult was 10 days, with 19% of patients waiting more than 28 days. After adjustment for clustering, no surgeon factors were associated with the number of days between colonoscopy and surgery. A report back to the general practitioner (GP) was found in 78% of patients' records. This feedback varied between surgeons but none of the specific surgeon characteristics examined could explain this.
Conclusion:
Surgeons usually communicated with GP regardless of whether they were the referral source. However, communication with GP varied considerably among surgeons, with no evidence of a report to the GP in one-fifth of cases.
