Abstract
Multidisciplinary Diagnostic Centres (MDCs) are increasingly a feature of national strategies for the improvement of cancer outcomes. First developed in Denmark, they are now being piloted in England as part of the ACE (Accelerate, Co-ordinate, Evaluate) programme to improve cancer diagnostic pathways in England.
Patient experience is a key consideration in the development of health care services, and survey tools have been developed, notably the Cancer Patient Experience Survey (CPES). In the absence of a suitable specific tool for MDCs, and at the request of the ACE programme, we developed a 21 item survey specifically to measure patient experience of the MDC pathway. The survey tool drew on and adapted previously validated items from CPES and from the Manchester Cancer Survey. Face validity was confirmed at the six ACE MDC pilot sites; comprehension and ease of completion at two of those sites.
The patient experience survey was implemented at six pilot MDC sites between May 2017 and February 2018. During this period 854 patients were seen and 256 completed surveys received (30% response, range 16-44%). The large majority reported a positive experience, indeed 95% reported that their tests were explained in a way that could be understood completely or to some extent, and 97.5% said that they had the opportunity to ask questions.
Where comparable, positive response rates were similar to those reported in CPES and notably better in relation to people involved in their care working together. There were differences between individual sites on some aspects of patient experience, but survey numbers for each site were too small to draw meaningful conclusions.
We have developed a validated tool to survey patient experience of the MDC pathway, and have confirmed the feasibility of its use in routine care. We recommend that it be adopted for the routine monitoring of patient experience as MDCs are mode widely implemented.
Patient experience is a key consideration in the development of health care services, and survey tools have been developed, notably the Cancer Patient Experience Survey (CPES). In the absence of a suitable specific tool for MDCs, and at the request of the ACE programme, we developed a 21 item survey specifically to measure patient experience of the MDC pathway. The survey tool drew on and adapted previously validated items from CPES and from the Manchester Cancer Survey. Face validity was confirmed at the six ACE MDC pilot sites; comprehension and ease of completion at two of those sites.
The patient experience survey was implemented at six pilot MDC sites between May 2017 and February 2018. During this period 854 patients were seen and 256 completed surveys received (30% response, range 16-44%). The large majority reported a positive experience, indeed 95% reported that their tests were explained in a way that could be understood completely or to some extent, and 97.5% said that they had the opportunity to ask questions.
Where comparable, positive response rates were similar to those reported in CPES and notably better in relation to people involved in their care working together. There were differences between individual sites on some aspects of patient experience, but survey numbers for each site were too small to draw meaningful conclusions.
We have developed a validated tool to survey patient experience of the MDC pathway, and have confirmed the feasibility of its use in routine care. We recommend that it be adopted for the routine monitoring of patient experience as MDCs are mode widely implemented.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Cancer Research UK |
| Number of pages | 43 |
| Publication status | Published - 2018 |