Level of competence of rural physicians in primary health care in the diagnosis of malignant neoplasms of main localizations

Abstract

Objective. To analize the level of rural PHC doctors` competence on the issues of diagnosis and routing patients with suspected cancer. Materials and methods. The study was conducted using a survey of medical workers involved in the diagnosis of malignant neoplasms of four main localizations (specialist doctors and paramedics of examination rooms) of the Central District Hospital of five rural municipal districts of the Magnitogorsk oncological cluster of Chelyabinsk region. 35 physicians took part in the study. Results. The results of the survey were quite negative: the minority of respondents are aware of the exact duration of the mandatory initial diagnostic examination, the period of informing the oncologist about the patient diagnosed with cancer, and the scheme for assigning municipal medical organizations to outpatient oncology centers. Conclusions. The surveyed contingent is characterized by: low oncological alertness and unsatisfactory competence concerning the initial manifestations of malignancies; inclusion of symptoms of the formed cancer in the number of early manifestations of malignancies, which means that a doctor, unsure of the diagnosis, as if waiting for the appearance of an obvious, from his point of view, symptom of a tumor, and as a result, the patient has an advanced stage of cancer; 3) flawed ideas about the full list of necessary methods for diagnosing malignant neoplasms of leading localizations; unsatisfactory knowledge of regulatory documentation on the routing of patients with suspected cancer.