Cancer patient pathways in Denmark as a joint effort between bureaucrats, health professionals and politicians—A national Danish project

Tumour stage and implementation of standardised cancer patient pathways: a comparative cohort study

“…16 No previous studies were found of patients with lung cancer diagnosed through a primary care route that compared tumour stages before and after CPP implementation. As the Danish CPP guidelines recommended intensified and better quality in the diagnostic work-up, 2 this may have directed a shift towards more thorough pre-therapeutic assessment, which could lead to more severely staged tumours at the time of diagnosis after CPP implementation.…”

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] Denmark implemented CPPs in 2008 and 2009. 2 The Danish CPPs consist of guidelines, including descriptions of selected alarm symptoms that may raise cancer suspicion, descriptions of medical procedures (mainly in the secondary healthcare sector), and specific timeframes for all phases (for example, 9 days from GP referral to first appointment at hospital when colorectal cancer is suspected). 2,10 CPP strategies differ by country, but they tend generally to rest on the common assumption that improved prognosis (that is, better survival) can be ensured by shorter time to diagnosis and hence earlier detection of cancer.…”

Improving early diagnosis of symptomatic cancer

“…In Denmark, however, a patient in a similar situation is seen within four working days and the whole diagnostic pathway through to treatment is accelerated. 122 These referral pathways reduce the time to diagnosis for many, but not all, cancers and have been criticised because their use is restricted to those patients with specific, generally high-risk symptoms. 123 For example, time to diagnosis in the UK fell more for those symptoms that already had the lowest times to diagnosis, and the best patient survival outcomes.…”

Directing the senses in the contemporary orientations to cancer disease control: Debating symptom research

“…In Denmark, this configuration is visible in the implementation of biotechnological innovations and increasing access to MR and CT scanners, which permit early detection of tumours and socio-politically enforced changes in the organisation of healthcare delivery. Since 2007 the Danish healthcare system has witnessed the implementation of more than 30 standardised cancer pathways, and Danish hospitals have invested a vast amount of resources to eliminate waiting times and to improve the organisation of diagnostic investigations (Probst, Hussain & Andersen, 2012). In the process of managing the public and implementing and administering the organisation of diagnostic practices, cancer symptoms have gained a powerful symbolic presence.…”