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Communication between physicians and with patients suffering from breast cancer
W J van der Kam1, P J Branger, J H van Bemmel
1Hospital De Weezenlanden, Zwolle, The Netherlands.
Family Practice
|December 16, 1998
Summary
Communication between general practitioners (GPs) and specialists regarding breast cancer patients is often slow and incomplete. This delays diagnosis and forces patients to deliver their own bad news.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Healthcare Communication
- General Practice
Background:
- Effective communication between general practitioners (GPs) and specialists is crucial for breast cancer patient care.
- Gaps in communication can negatively impact patient outcomes and experiences.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the speed and nature of communication between GPs, specialists, and breast cancer patients.
- To identify communication challenges faced by GPs when dealing with specialists regarding these patients.
Main Methods:
- A questionnaire was distributed to 246 Dutch GPs in the Zwolle region.
- Data collection focused on the communication surrounding the last consulted breast cancer patient.
Main Results:
- The median time from referral to definitive diagnosis receipt by GPs was 4 weeks.
- Only 45% of GPs received patient contact after the first surgeon consultation, with only 20% having received a specialist report.
- GPs reported communication as too slow (49%) and not frequent enough (25%), with task distribution issues noted by 25%.
Conclusions:
- Communication during breast cancer diagnosis is highly variable, slow, and incomplete.
- Patients often become intermediaries for delivering critical diagnostic information due to communication failures.
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