Author/Editor		Harris, Michael; Frey, Peter; Esteva, Magdalena; Gašparović-Babić, Svjetlana; Marzo-Castillejo, Mercè; Petek, Davorina; Petek Šter, Marija; Thulesius, Hans
Title		How health system factors influence referral decisions in patients that may have cancer
Type		članek
Vol. and No.		Letnik 4, št. 1
Publication year		2016
Volume		str. 7-10
ISSN		1472-6920 - BMC medical education
Language		eng
Abstract		Objective: To identify the system and other non-clinical factors that may influence a General Practitioners' decision on whether to refer a patient who may have cancer. Study design: Expert group discussion and consensus formation. Methods: A group of eight General Practitioner (GP) researchers from Croatia, England, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland used brainstorming to identify the non- clinical factors that could affect GPs' decision-making when faced with patients that might have cancer. The group refined and came to a consensus on these factors. Results: Many non-clinical factors are likely to have a significant impact on referral decisions. These include levels of gatekeeping responsibility, funding systems, access to special investigations, fear of litigation, and relationships with specialist colleagues. Conclusions: Many patients with cancer present without red-flag symptoms, but nevertheless still cause a feeling of concern in their GPs. How a health system is organised is likely to influence on how GPs act on those concerns.
Keywords		health care systems cancer early detection of cancer sistem zdravstvenega varstva rak zgodnje odkrivanje raka