Diagnostic delay in neoplastic disease.

It may be possible to measure quality of care in general practice by selecting a single criterion of care such as the delay in the recognition of neoplastic disease. Seven general practitioners reported on 55 new cases and the results are analysed according to age, sex, and diagnostic category. An attempt is made to quantify ;quality' by comparing the theoretical ;ideal' delay (retrospectively assessed) with the ;actual' delay. The wider implications of the study are discussed.