Ietje Perfors

117 Results Study population In total 396 patients were approached for participation in the treating hospital (Figure 1). Sixty-five patients could not be included; 60 because they did not meet inclusion criteria and five because they could not be contacted. Of those invited to participate, 177 patients declined, withmain reasons: “too much of a burden shortly after diagnosis” and “no extra guidance needed”. Finally, 154 patients were randomised to either the intervention (n=77) or the usual care control group (n=77) (Table 1). The 154 patients were registered with 119 different GP’s, from 79 different GP centres. Patients in the intervention and control group were comparable with respect to baseline characteristics, except for the proportion of patients with co- morbidities, which was higher in the intervention group (67.5%) as compared to the control group (49.4%) (Table 1). The majority of patients had either breast (51%) or colorectal (25%) cancer. Most patients (75%) were female, and the mean age was 61 (SD ±11.9) years. Most GPs of the study population worked in an urban setting (62%) and had a median work experience of 16 years (IQR 11-25.25). Implementation of Time Out consultation In the intervention group 80.5% (n=62) of the patients had a TOC (a GP consultation that included the elements of the TOC). However, only 17.7% (n=11) had the TOC scheduled according to protocol, i.e., between diagnosis and final treatment decision. The median time from diagnosis to TOC was 7 days (IQR 6-12) for the 11 patients that had the TOC scheduled according to protocol and 16 days (IQR 11-23) if the TOC was planned after the treatment decision. The median time from diagnosis to treatment decision was 13 days (IQR 8-14) for those with a TOC before treatment decision, 5 days (IQR 1.0-7.0) for those with a TOC after the treatment decision and 5 days (IQR 0.5-9.8) for patients without a TOC. In the intervention group, 22% (n=17) of the patients received the diagnosis and treatment decision on the same day, and 51% (n=39) within 7 days. 5