Purpose: To determine the current management of oral and intravenous chemotherapy (OC and IVC) in outpatient clinics of Oncology Departments in Spain to detect opportunities for improvement.
Materials and methods: The Spanish Society of Medical Oncology designed a questionnaire specifically for Heads of Oncology Department: 142 were invited and 52 responded.
Results: In most centers, the waiting time (69.7%) and time at the outpatient clinic (84.8%) was shorter for patients receiving OC compared to those receiving IVC. The time spent at the outpatient clinic by the patients having OC was approximately 30 min (88.5%). In addition, the time expended by the oncologist with each patient was shorter when they were treated with OC in 21.2% of cases.
Conclusions: Patients' waiting times and individual dedication of oncologists might be reduced by administering OC, and general management might be improved. This should be considered when planning therapies if OC is an option.
Keywords: Intravenous chemotherapy; Oral chemotherapy; Outpatient clinic; Survey.