Dataset Information

Point-of-care testing in UK primary care: a survey to establish clinical needs.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:A number of point-of-care diagnostic tests are commercially available in the UK, however, not much is known regarding GPs' desire for these tests or the clinical areas of interest. OBJECTIVE:We sought to establish for which conditions point-of-care tests (POCTs) would be most helpful to UK GPs for diagnosis, reduction of referrals, and monitoring of chronic conditions. METHODS:A total of 1635 regionally representative GPs were invited to complete an online cross-sectional survey between 31 September and 16 October 2012. RESULTS:A total of 1109 (68%) GPs responded to the survey. The most frequently cited conditions were urinary tract infections for diagnosis (47% of respondents), pulmonary embolism/deep vein thrombosis for referral reduction (47%) and international normalized ratio/anticoagulation for monitoring (49%). CONCLUSIONS:This survey has identified the conditions for which UK GPs would find POCTs most helpful. Comments by respondents suggest that quite radical system-level adjustments will be required to allow primary care clinicians to capitalize on the potential benefits of POCTs.

SUBMITTER: Turner PJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4957010 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Point-of-care testing in UK primary care: a survey to establish clinical needs.

Turner Philip J PJ Van den Bruel Ann A Jones Caroline H D CH Plüddemann Annette A Heneghan Carl C Thompson Matthew J MJ Price Christopher P CP Howick Jeremy J

Family practice 20160405 4

<h4>Background</h4>A number of point-of-care diagnostic tests are commercially available in the UK, however, not much is known regarding GPs' desire for these tests or the clinical areas of interest.<h4>Objective</h4>We sought to establish for which conditions point-of-care tests (POCTs) would be most helpful to UK GPs for diagnosis, reduction of referrals, and monitoring of chronic conditions.<h4>Methods</h4>A total of 1635 regionally representative GPs were invited to complete an online cross- ...[more]

PMID: 27048525

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Project description:OBJECTIVES:Patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer have the poorest survival prognosis of any cancer. This survey aimed to describe their experiences of care and supportive care needs to inform future service provision. DESIGN:Cross-sectional questionnaire survey of patients with pancreatic cancer in the UK. SETTING:Individuals at any stage along the care pathway were recruited via five National Health Service sites in the UK, and online, from January to June 2018. PARTICIPANTS:274 individuals completed the questionnaire (78% (215) were completed online). Approximately half of participants were diagnosed within the last year (133/274). Of 212 providing gender details, 82 were male and 130 were female. Ninety per cent (192/213) described themselves as White British. PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURES:Experiences of communication and information; involvement in treatment decisions; supportive care needs. RESULTS:Communication with, and care received from, clinical staff were generally reported positively. However, 29% (75/260) of respondents did not receive enough information at diagnosis, and 10% (25/253) felt they were not involved in decisions about their treatment, but would have liked to be. Supportive care needs were greatest in psychological and physical/daily living domains. 49% (108/221) of respondents reported one or more moderate/high unmet needs within the last month, of which the most commonly reported were: dealing with uncertainty about the future; fears about the cancer spreading; not being able to do things they used to; concerns about those close to them; lack of energy; anxiety; feelings of sadness and feeling down/depressed. Experiences were poorer, and unmet supportive care needs greater, in patients with unresectable disease. CONCLUSIONS:Patients with pancreatic cancer have unmet information and support needs across the cancer trajectory. Psychological and physical support appears to be the biggest gap in care. Needs should be assessed and supportive care interventions implemented from the point of diagnosis, and monitored regularly to help patients live as good a quality of life as possible.

Dataset Information

Point-of-care testing in UK primary care: a survey to establish clinical needs.

Publications

Point-of-care testing in UK primary care: a survey to establish clinical needs.

Similar Datasets

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