Family physician involvement in cancer care follow-up: the experience of a cohort of patients with lung cancer.
OBJECTIVE
There has been little research describing the involvement of family physicians in the follow-up of patients with cancer, especially during the primary treatment phase. We undertook a prospective longitudinal study of patients with lung cancer to assess their family physician's involvement in their follow-up at the different phases of cancer.


METHODS
In 5 hospitals in the province of Quebec, Canada, patients with a recent diagnosis of lung cancer were surveyed every 3 to 6 months, whether they had metastasis or not, for a maximum of 18 months, to assess aspects of their family physician's involvement in cancer care.


RESULTS
Of the 395 participating patients, 92% had a regular family physician but only 60% had been referred to a specialist by him/her or a colleague for the diagnosis of their lung cancer. A majority of patients identified the oncology team or oncologists as mainly responsible for their cancer care throughout their cancer journey, except at the advanced phase, where a majority attributed this role to their family physician. At baseline, only 16% of patients perceived a shared care pattern between their family physician and oncologists, but this proportion increased with cancer progression. Most patients would have liked their family physician to be more involved in all aspects of cancer care.


CONCLUSIONS
Although patients perceive that the oncology team is the main party responsible for the follow-up of their lung cancer, they also wish their family physicians to be involved. Better communication and collaboration between family physicians and the oncology team are needed to facilitate shared care in cancer follow-up.
Research Unit of the Quebec Center of Excellence on Aging, Quebec, QC, Canada. michele.aubin@mfa.ulaval.ca
Michèle
M
Aubin
Lucie
L
Vézina
René
R
Verreault
Lise
L
Fillion
Eveline
E
Hudon
François
F
Lehmann
Yvan
Y
Leduc
Rénald
R
Bergeron
Daniel
D
Reinharz
Diane
D
Morin
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003266:Continuity of Patient Care; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D033183:Interdisciplinary Communication; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010348:Patient Care Team; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D010821:Physicians, Family; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires