For a study, researchers sought to evaluate the results of a primary care team’s systematic follow-up after a cancer diagnosis. Patients who had received curative treatment for breast, lung, colorectal, gynecologic, or melanoma were enrolled in a multicenter randomized controlled trial that they conducted. Patients randomized to the intervention received standard cancer care in addition to “Time Out consultations” (TOC) with general practitioners (GP) following diagnosis and follow-up by home care oncology nurses (HON) throughout and after treatment. Primary outcomes were patient satisfaction with care (EORTC-INPATSAT-32) and healthcare utilization. Intention-to-treat linear mixed regression analyses were utilized for satisfaction with care and other continuous outcome variables. The difference in healthcare utilization was determined using a Pearson Chi-Square or Fisher exact test for categorical data. For count data (none versus any), it was determined using log-binomial regression. Investigators recruited 154 patients (control n = 77, intervention n = 77), 75% of whom were female, 51% of who had breast cancer, and whose mean age was 61 (SD±11.9) years. A TOC and HON contact was present in 81% of the intervention patients. Both study groups had a high level of care satisfaction (8 out of 10). At 3 months following treatment, the intervention group’s GP satisfaction scores were substantially lower on 3 of the 6 subscales, including quality (−14.2 [95 % CI -27.0;-1.3]), availability (−15,9 [−29.1;-2.6]), and information provision ( 15.2 [−29.1;-1.4]). The intervention group’s patients went to the doctor’s office and the emergency room more frequently (RR 1.3 (1.0;1.7) and 1.70 (1.0;2.8), respectively). The GRIP intervention, which aimed to involve the primary care team throughout and after cancer treatment, improved the number of contacts with primary healthcare providers. The number of visits to the emergency room grew, but patient satisfaction with the care received did not improve. Future research should concentrate on improving the design and implementation of the intervention because the high adoption of the intervention implied a need among patients.
Source: bmcprimcare.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12875-022-01746-3
