study: family physician's decision to investigate symptoms suggestive of cancer (ovarian/colorectal...)

Cancer Care Ontario 

 ....The study findings show that family physicians from Ontario are more likely to refer women presenting with symptoms suggestive of ovarian cancer for tests or to a specialist at their first visit than their peers in comparable jurisdictions, but are less likely to investigate people with symptoms suggestive of colorectal cancer. Ontario has the second highest one-year survival for ovarian cancer among the 11 jurisdictions participating in the study and ranks fourth for colorectal cancer.....

.... "The findings call for further research on the connection between primary care and survival and also indicate how important it is for family physicians to have access to proper diagnostic tests....


Additional findings:

• Seventy-three per cent of family physicians from Ontario made a decision to refer women with symptoms suggestive of ovarian cancer for tests or to a specialist at their first visit, which is the highest proportion among all of the participating jurisdictions.
  
• Approximately 50 per cent of family physicians from Ontario made the decision to refer people with symptoms suggestive of lung cancer for tests or to a specialist at their first visit, which is similar to the other participating jurisdictions.
  
• Approximately 25 per cent of family physicians from Ontario made the decision to refer people with symptoms suggestive of colorectal cancer for tests or to a specialist at their first visit, which was lower than the top performing jurisdictions.
  
• Less than 20 per cent of family physicians from Ontario reported having direct access to flexible sigmoidoscopy and colonoscopy, which are used to help investigate colorectal cancer. This is lower than the top performing jurisdictions.
  
• Family physicians reported total wait times for colonoscopy and flexible sigmoidoscopy in Ontario were between seven and eight weeks, which is longer than the top performing jurisdictions. Ontario ranked sixth and eighth among the 11 jurisdictions for flexible sigmoidoscopy and colonoscopy total wait times, respectively.

For further information, please see the backgrounder.