Background: There are poorly documented variations in the journey a skin cancer patient will follow from diagnosis to treatment in the European Union.
Objectives: To investigate the possible difficulties or obstacles that a person with a skin malignancy in the European Union may have to overcome in order to receive adequate medical screening and care for his/her condition. In addition, we wished to explore differences in European health systems, which may lead to health inequalities and health inequities within Europe.
Methods: Ten European countries took part in this investigation (in alphabetical order): Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, Malta, Poland, Romania, Spain, the Netherlands and the U.K. The individual participants undertook local and national enquiries within their own country and completed a questionnaire.
Results: This exercise has identified important differences in the management of a skin cancer patient, reflecting major disparities in health care between European countries.
Conclusions: Further investigation of health disparities and efforts to address health inequalities should lead to improvements in European health care quality and reduction in morbidity from skin cancer.
© 2012 The Authors. BJD © 2012 British Association of Dermatologists.