Ietje Perfors

134 Chapter 6 Abstract Purpose The growing population of cancer patients treatedwith curative intent and the improved treatment possibilities call for more personalised and integrated cancer care. Primary care seems well positioned to support this. We assessed the effects of a primary care intervention, during and after curative cancer treatment, on patient satisfaction and healthcare utilisation. Patients and methods The GRIP study is a multicentre randomised controlled trial. Curatively treated cancer patients (breast, lung, colorectal, gynaecologic, melanoma) were included in four Dutch hospitals. All patients received usual care. In addition, patients randomised to the intervention group were offered follow- up guidance fromprimary care, which included two components: (1) a “Time Out consultation” (TOC) with the general practitioner (GP) after diagnosis and (2) subsequent structured follow-up during and after treatment by a home care oncology nurse (HON) in cooperation with the GP. Primary outcomes included patient satisfaction with care and healthcare utilisation. Secondary outcomes were quality of life, mental health, and patient self-efficacy. Data were collected using questionnaires at baseline (T0), after 2 weeks (T1), after 6months or at completion of active treatment (T3) and 3 months after active treatment (T5). Healthcare utilisation was retrieved from routine care data registrations. Results We included 154 patients (control n=77, intervention n=77); who were mostly female (75%), mainly diagnosed with breast cancer (51%) or colorectal cancer (25%) and had a mean age of 61 (SD ±11.9) years. 81% of the intervention patients had a TOC and 68% had HON contact. Patient’s overall satisfaction with care at T3 and T5 was high (a mean overall score of 8 out of 10) in both study groups. Three months after completion of active treatment (T5) GP satisfaction among patients who were in contact with their GP was significantly lower in the intervention group compared to the control group