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Harris S, Olivotto I. A Patient’s Journey Communication during breast cancer treatment. BMJ 2009;339:b4166

This article in the British Medical Journal this week is a personal reflection of one woman's journey through the healthcare system in Canada, while undergoing treatment for breast cancer. During the authors treatment she saw 35 health professionals at different hospitals and clinics - not one passed information on to anyone else and the author found herself in the position of being the person managing and co-ordinating her care.

The article highlights some of the frustrations and potentially harmful consequences of this lack of communication and suggests some solutions for both patients and health professionals. These include:

• Providing patient friendly written fact sheets, protocols, and "dos" and "don’ts" for every medical and surgical procedure
• Assigning  someone (other than the patient) to be the case manager for the healthcare team.
• Ensuring  that charts from other hospitals or healthcare agencies are secured and read before seeing the patient, scheduling surgery, or setting up any diagnostic or medical procedure.
  

Subscription needed: www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/339/oct23_1/b4166