Quality of breast-cancer care in Italian general hospitals.
The diagnostic and therapeutic care and degree of follow-up delivered to 2406 breast-cancer patients over two years (1978-79) in 31 Italian hospitals are reviewed. Although there was broad agreement about recommended treatment protocols, staging by standard methods was recorded in only 44% of patients, assessment and reporting of side-effects was considered in only 49% of all treated patients, follow-up data at two years were available for only 54% of living patients, and the dropout rate from chemotherapy protocols was 35%. Improvement of these unsatisfactory aspects of care would allow a better appreciation of the real benefit that could be achieved with recommended protocols and would result in a more effective use of health resources.
D005260:Female; D006769:Hospitals, General; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008499:Medical Records / Q000592:standards; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D010349:Patient Compliance; D011787:Quality of Health Care