Post-diagnosis skin cancer follow-up in rural general practice

In Australia, there is a lack of consensus for the follow-up of skin cancer in general practice. This mixed-methods study based in Gippsland, Victoria, surveyed and interviewed GPs to identify challenges to follow-up in a rural setting. Sixty-five GPs participated, key outcomes included that nearly 70% followed up non-melanotic skin cancer opportuntistically whilst 66% reported they used structured follow-up for melanoma. Qualitative results suggested that time constraints, practitioner accessibility and specialists’ availability were prominent challenges for follow-up. Overall, the study supports that the development of evidence-based guidelines  for the follow-up of non-melanotic skin cancers could be helpful to further support rural GPs.   Read the full text