English summaries 45/2019 vsk 74 s. 2581 - 2588

Towards reliable monitoring of access to cancer treatment: comparison of the diagnosis data of the national Hospital Discharge Register and the Finnish Cancer Registry

Jutta JärvelinHeidi RyynänenRaimo MahkonenJanne PitkäniemiLiisa PylkkänenPirjo HäkkinenNea Malila
Hilmon vertailu syöpärekisteriin
Syöpärekisterin vertailu Hilmoon

Background Reliable monitoring of access to cancer treatment requires good quality data on cancer diagnoses. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the information on cancer diagnoses in the national Hospital Discharge Register (HDR) is feasible for monitoring access to cancer treatment.

Methods Data on patients having been diagnosed with cancer in 2014 were compiled from the Finnish Cancer Registry (FCR) and subsequently linked with data from the years 2013 to 2015 from the HDR. A further dataset was compiled from the HDR comprising all observable cancer diagnoses in 2014 and compared with data from the FCR.

Results Breast cancer had been recorded in the HDR reliably. Most of the other cancer types were also found in the HDR consistently (around 90 percent), but data on brain cancer and cancer of the central nervous system as well as stomach cancer were inadequate in the HDR.

Conclusions Diagnoses in the HDR and the FCR were largely comparable. Further research is necessary to find out to what extent the diagnosis date in the FCR corresponds to the HDR dates of outpatient or inpatient stays that have a cancer diagnosis recorded for the first time. The reliability of all the other information required for monitoring access to cancer treatment, such as data on referral and first treatment procedure, also requires assessment.

Lääkäriliitto Fimnet Lääkärilehti Potilaanlaakarilehti Lääkäripäivät Lääkärikompassi Erikoisalani Lääkäri 2030