WRITTEN COMMUNICATION FROM SPECIALISTS TO GENERAL-PRACTITIONERS IN CANCER CARE - WHAT ARE THE EXPECTATIONS AND HOW ARE THEY MET

Objective - To examine how general practitioners (GPs) and specialists assess the importance of different aspects of information regarding c anter treatment in the discharge letter from the hospital. Design - A postal questionnaire study. among GPs in two Swedish counties and canc er specialists (oncologists, surgeons and urologists) in six Swedish c ounties. Subjects - Two hundred and four GPs and 48 cancer specialists . Main outcome - Self-evaluation and assessment of the counterparts' e valuation of 17 items concerning cancer care in a discharge letter fro m hospital specialists to GPs. Results - GPs, especially female GPs, g enerally rated the items higher than the cancer specialists. The diffe rences were most pronounced in items concerning caring and psychosocia l dimensions. Concerning the assessment of the other MD group, GPs dee med specialists as more interested in technical items and less interes ted in psychosocial items than themselves, whereas specialists believe d that GPs had a similar view as themselves. Conclusion - The differen ces in self-evaluation and assessment of the other MD groups evaluatio n of the content in a discharge letter, concerning cancer patients fro m hospital specialists to GPs, might reflect different professional st rategics in cancer management and hamper the efficiency in the shared care of these patients.