Patient-initiated follow up

Evaluating the implementation of the patient-initiated follow-up pathway against the standard six-week pathway for radiotherapy breast cancer patients

Aim

This was a one-year audit of one clinician’s patients, reviewing the implementation of the patient-initiated follow-up (PIFU) pathway, to compare the standard radiotherapy follow-up pathway of a six-week consultation post radiotherapy clinician appointment with the PIFU pathway for post-radiotherapy breast cancer patients. This group of patients was deemed suitable for PIFU as radiotherapy to the breast has a low level of risk for needing urgent follow-up care. The audit wanted to ensure that introducing the PIFU pathway did not lead to an increased workload in another area within the service.

Overview

PIFU is an initiative that was championed by the NHS and was part of the key response to the Covid-19 pandemic. It aims to empower the patient and put them in control of their care. When patients are not given an automatic follow-up appointment, this reduces the amount of unnecessary clinical appointments and...

Back to top