Abstract
In the Netherlands, the onset of the COVID pandemic saw shifts in primary health service provision away from physical consultations, cancer-screening programs were temporarily halted, and government messaging advised to limit all contact.
Emerging evidence describes that many people avoided or postponed accessing health care during the start of the pandemic . For conditions such as cancer, this can have drastic consequences, leading to later stage of diagnosis with worse prognosis, more invasive treatments, and poorer patient experience.
Cancer diagnoses were markedly reduced in this period to 73% of their pre-COVID levels. The majority of cancer diagnoses occur through patients presenting to primary care and subsequent referral to specialists.
This study aims to measure the effect of the COVID pandemic on the primary care cancer diagnostic pathway in The Netherlands, and compare to pre-COVID diagnostic intervals.
Emerging evidence describes that many people avoided or postponed accessing health care during the start of the pandemic . For conditions such as cancer, this can have drastic consequences, leading to later stage of diagnosis with worse prognosis, more invasive treatments, and poorer patient experience.
Cancer diagnoses were markedly reduced in this period to 73% of their pre-COVID levels. The majority of cancer diagnoses occur through patients presenting to primary care and subsequent referral to specialists.
This study aims to measure the effect of the COVID pandemic on the primary care cancer diagnostic pathway in The Netherlands, and compare to pre-COVID diagnostic intervals.
Original language | English |
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Publication status | Published - 30 Jun 2022 |
Event | WONCA - London, United Kingdom Duration: 28 Jun 2022 → 1 Jul 2022 |
Conference
Conference | WONCA |
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Country/Territory | United Kingdom |
Period | 28/06/22 → 1/07/22 |