Potential Improvements in Emergency Department Care for Cancer Patients According to Clinical Staff

Identification of Potential Improvements in the Acute Care Pathway for Cancer Patients in the Emergency Department (OVERSEE - II Trial)

The goal of this Single center prospective cross-sectional study is to identify the facilitators and barriers among caregivers in the emergency department that influence disposition of patients with solid and hematology malignancies. The main question it aims to answer is to categorize the facilitators and barriers identified by three groups of emergency department (ED) staff. Participants will be asked for permission, afterwards a short interview will be held with the different ED caregivers (ED nurse, attending physician and supervising physician).

The goal of this to identify the facilitators and barriers among caregivers in the emergency department (ED) that influence disposition of patients with solid and hematology malignancies. Participants will be asked for permission, afterwards a short interview will be held with the different caregivers (ED nurse, attending physician and supervising physician) in the ED. The interviews will be held in the order of the ED care pathway, meaning ED nurse first, treating physician second and supervising physician at last. The interviews will be conducted for every patient with each of the caregivers. Each interview will be conducted after the caregiver has made the first examination of the patient. The interview focuses on several parts of the emergency care process: The first part is regarding the actions that are executed during an ED visit. We will establish which actions are executed and why. The second part is regarding the suspected outcome for the patient. The third part will be about any potential improvements to the emergency care process for the patient.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patients with solid or hematological malignancies and receiving system therapy or having received systemic therapy within the last 3 months.
• Presented at or admitted from the emergency department for the oncology, hematology, neuro- or lung-oncology clinical unit.
• Awake and conscious.
• Possible to answer questions within the same shift / day after presentation in the ED.

Exclusion Criteria:

• <18 years old.
• Only received a surgical intervention as cancer treatment.
• Not willing or able to give written informed consent.