Risk factors for patient-reported errors during cancer follow-up

Begrænset forskning i patientsikkerheden under kontrolforløbet

Every year 35,000 new cancer patients are diagnosed and currently nearly 267,500 persons are living with a cancer diagnosis in Denmark. Due to an increased cancer survival, more cancer patients are followed-up after completing primary treatment.

The follow-up usually involves outpatient consultations by specialists at the hospital with the aim to control for recurrence or metastasis, provide information and psychosocial support. Cancer survivors are sometimes lost in the transition from cancer patient to cancer survivor due to a fragmented and poorly coordinated cancer care system and the absence of a locus of responsibility for follow-up care.

Previous studies on safety and quality in cancer care show, that due to the severity of cancer disease and the hazardous treatment, cancer patients are at particular risk. However, studies have mainly focused on cancer treatment and knowledge of patient safety during follow-up is scarce. Thus, knowledge of patient safety during follow-up is sparse.

Sundhedsprofessionelle og patienter har forskellige opfattelser af fejl

Follow-up care in Denmark involves multiple care providers and care settings, and patients rarely meet the same doctor at every appointment. This potentially increases the risk of errors, as there is a clear association between numbers of care transitions and cancer patients experience of errors or complications.

I undersøgelsen defineres fejl som en utilsigtet eller uventet hændelse, som skadede patienten, faktuelt eller potentielt. Skaden kan være fysisk, psykisk eller social.

Undersøgelsen viser, at mange patientoplevede fejl ikke opfanges i rapporteringssystemer eller i journaler. Den viser også, at kræftpatienters vurdering af patientsikkerheden adskiller sig fra de sundhedsprofessionelles oplevelser af samme. En del af problemerne erkendes af begge parter, men både patienter og professionelle vil opfatte og identificere problemer, der ikke erkendes af den anden part.

Risk factors for patient-reported errors during cancer follow-up