Written communication from specialists to general practitioners in cancer care: What are the expectations and how are they met?

OBJECTIVE: To examine how general practitioners (GPs) and specialists assess the importance of different aspects of information regarding cancer treatment in the discharge letter from the hospital. DESIGN: A postal questionnaire study among GPs in two Swedish counties and cancer specialists (oncologists, surgeons and urologists) in six Swedish counties. SUBJECTS: Two hundred and four GPs and 48 cancer specialists. MAIN OUTCOME: Self-evaluation and assessment of the counterparts' evaluation of 17 items concerning cancer care in a discharge letter from hospital specialists to GPs. RESULTS: GPs, especially female GPs, generally rated the items higher than the cancer specialists. The differences were most pronounced in items concerning caring and psychosocial dimensions. Concerning the assessment of the other MD group, GPs deemed specialists as more interested in technical items and less interested in psychosocial items than themselves, whereas specialists believed that GPs had a similar view as themselves. CONCLUSION: The differences in self-evaluation and assessment of the other MD groups evaluation of the content in a discharge letter, concerning cancer patients from hospital specialists to GPs, might reflect different professional strategies in cancer management and hamper the efficiency in the shared care of these patients.