Survey of Patients Referred to a University Cancer Center for Benign Hematology: Quality Measures and Patient Understanding.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate patients' knowledge and understanding of benign hematology and the potential psychological impact that is associated with referral to outpatient clinics.

METHODS

At Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center, an anonymous and voluntary survey including 28 questions was designed on the basis of information obtained from a single focus group. A participatory pilot survey was performed with 10 patients followed by a full-scale survey from May until November 2013. Statistical software was used for analysis.

RESULTS

Among 98 patients who received the questionnaire, 37.6% were men, 62.4% women, 70.9% ≥ 40 years of age, 94.6% white, and 51.6% had some college education or above. Of the patients surveyed, 62.4% were surprised to find that their appointment was at a cancer center, and 36.6% received no explanation before their referral. A total of 61.3% did not know what benign hematology was, and only 61.2% knew that cancer physicians are also frequently trained to see patients with benign hematology conditions. Among the patients, 46.2% and 39.8% had an increase in anxiety and stress, respectively; 30.1% were afraid that they might have cancer; and 32.3% thought that the reason for their referral to the cancer center was for an evaluation for cancer. Knowledge was significantly better in women patients and patients who had been seen by an outside hematologist before or had been to a cancer center before.

CONCLUSION

Referral to outpatient clinics in a cancer center for benign hematologic diseases seems to increase psychological stress and anxiety among patients, who may perceive that they are being referred for evaluation of a cancer diagnosis.