In the past, the government was the great equalizer because they trumped insurance companies, but now the government is the insurance company and there is greater worry about have and have nots.
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The joint group of researchers from the University of Cambridge and University College London learned that many cancer patients are either dissatisfied with or tend to distrust hospital staffers that treat them after the diagnosis.
Researchers analyzed data collected from 70,000 cancer patients, 90 percent of whom received their diagnosis from their GP.
Nearly a quarter of cancer patients have little faith in the National Health System, as a recent study shows that many have to visit their physician at least three times before they are referred for diagnostic tests.
Some 39% of those said they were dissatisfied with support from Global Positioning System and nurses, compared to 28% of those who needed two or fewer visits. Of those, about 60,000 learned that they had cancer from their GP, but more than 13,000 reported that they had to come at their GP’s office at least thrice before they were granted approval to cancer tests.
Dr. Georgios Lyratzopoulos of UCL, who happens to be the author of this study, said that this research reveals that the first impression plays a vital role in determining how a cancer patient would view his or her experience of treatment.
Although diagnostic delays can be caused by the difficulty in distinguishing cancer symptoms from other diseases and a lack of accurate and easy-to-use tests, the survey results demonstrate the significance of early diagnosis on patients’ overall experience with cancer care.
It’s very easy to trigger a chain-reaction of loss of confidence with a negative experience of diagnosis, which will be reflected on the entirety of the cancer journey.
“It’s another good reason to highlight the importance of diagnosing cancer as quickly as possible, not just to give patients the best chances of survival, but also to improve their experience of the care they receive throughout their cancer journey”.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has already started doing something in this regard, as they announced last month they would issue a list of symptoms to help doctors spot cancer. This included dissatisfaction with the way they were told they had cancer; and dissatisfaction with how hospital staff and Global Positioning System had worked with each other to provide the best possible care.
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Citation: Mendonca S.C.et al, Pre-referral general practitioner consultations and subsequent experience of cancer care: evidence from the English Cancer Patient Experience Survey, European Journal of Cancer (2015), DOI: 10.1111/ecc.12353.
