CJEM
-
Multicenter Study
Pathways to cancer care after a suspected cancer diagnosis in the emergency department: a survey of emergency physicians across Ontario.
Little is known about how patients are managed after a suspected cancer diagnosis through the emergency department. The objective of this study was to examine the ED management, specifically referral practices, for ten suspected cancer diagnoses by emergency physicians across Ontario and to explore variability in management by cancer-type and centre. ⋯ Physician management of new suspected cancer varies between EDs and is specific to cancer type. Strategies to standardize access to cancer care in a timely and equitable way for patients with newly suspected cancer in the ED are needed.