MODE: Missed Opportunities and Diagnostic Error 

Most patients with cancer present with non-specific symptoms that could be caused by other diseases. General practitioners (GPs) might first diagnose a non-cancer illness that matches the symptoms of people who are later diagnosed with cancer. These “interim” diagnoses may reflect good clinical practice due to the clinical information available at the time, or may be missed opportunities to test for and diagnose cancer. The aim of the MODE study is to gain an in-depth understanding of interim diagnoses and when they may represent possible missed opportunities.

We are carrying out online interviews with health care professionals working in primary care and have input into patients’ routes to, and speed of, diagnosis whether clinically or through administering consultations, referrals, or follow-up, including GPs, practice receptionists, or community pharmacists. These interviews will cover:

• How do interim diagnoses happen, and how do they change over time?
• How are interim diagnoses recorded in the patient’s medical record, and why?
• What impact do primary care staff think interim diagnoses have on the chances that patients go back to their doctor and on their ongoing care?
• What could be done to reduce potential delays?
• What prompts healthcare professionals to rethink the interim diagnosis and consider cancer.  

If you are a health care professional interested in taking part in the MODE study, please read our Participant Information Sheet below:

MODE HCP information sheet

The results will be presented at national and international conferences. They will also be shared with stakeholders, including patients and carers, healthcare professionals and policy makers, to help identify and develop interventions to reduce delays in cancer diagnoses associated with interim diagnoses. 

This project is funded by the NIHR School of Primary Care Research  

University of Exeter 

Queen Mary University of London