Using breast cancer quality indicators in a vulnerable population.

BACKGROUND: Adherence to quality indicators may be especially important to disease-specific outcomes for uninsured, vulnerable patients. The objective of this study was to measure adherence to National Initiative for Cancer Care Quality (NICCQ) breast cancer quality indicators in a public hospital and compare performance to published rates in a previously collected 5-city cohort. METHODS: One hundred five consecutive, newly diagnosed, stage I-III, breast cancer patients at a public hospital (from 2005 to 2007) were identified. Adherence rates to 31 quality indicators were measured by using medical record abstraction. Rates were calculated for individual indicators, aggregated domains, and components of care and were compared with the 5-city cohort results by using a 2-sided test of proportions. RESULTS: Overall adherence to the NICCQ indicators at the public hospital was 82%, versus 86% in the 5-city cohort. Public hospital adherence was better in 3 domains and components (Management of Treatment Toxicity 95% vs 73%, Referrals 76% vs 15%, and Documentation of Key Clinical Factors 72% vs 64%, P < .05 for all), but it was lower in others (Testing 82% vs 96%, Adjuvant Therapy 76% vs 83%, Surgery 72% vs 86%, Surveillance 63% vs 94%, and Respect for Patient Preferences 52% vs 72%, P < .001 for all). CONCLUSIONS: The results showed that it is possible to deliver breast cancer care to vulnerable patients comparable in quality to the care received by the broader population. Further study should identify the factors that lead to variation in adherence across domains of quality.

Improving breast cancer quality of care with the use of patient navigators.

The continuum of breast cancer care requires multidisciplinary efforts. Patient navigators, who perform outreach, coordination, and education, have been shown to improve some areas of care. However, little research has assessed the impact of navigators on breast cancer treatment in uninsured populations. Our objective is to report on the impact of a patient navigator program on breast cancer quality of care at a public hospital. One hundred consecutive newly diagnosed patients with breast cancer (Stages I to III) were identified (2005 to 2007). Forty-nine patients were treated before the use of navigators and 51 after program implementation. Nine breast cancer quality indicators were used to evaluate quality of care. Overall adherence to the quality indicators improved from 69 to 86 per cent with the use of patient navigators (P < 0.01). Only one individual indicator, use of surveillance mammography, improved significantly (52 to 76%, P < 0.05). All nine indicators reached 75 per cent or greater adherence rates after implementation of the navigator program compared with only four before implementation. Patient navigators appear to improve breast cancer quality of care in a public hospital. In populations in which cultural, linguistic, and financial barriers are prevalent, navigator programs can be effective in narrowing the observed gaps in the quality of cancer care.

Breast-conservation treatment outcomes: a community hospital's experience.

In the United States, the majority of early breast cancer patients choose breast-conserving treatment in the community setting, yet there is a paucity of literature describing outcomes. In this paper, we describe our experience with breast-conserving treatment in a small community hospital. Our hospital tumor registry was used to identify breast cancer cases diagnosed at our hospital between 1997 and 2003. We limited our study to those women with initial attempts at breast-conserving surgery (BCS) who had follow-up oncology treatment at on-campus affiliated oncological services. We looked at factors that influence survival for early stage 0-II disease such as tumor and patient characteristics, completeness of local surgical tumor excision, and adjuvant treatment. We also evaluated the percentage of cases in which the initial BCS did not achieve adequate surgical oncological results and the number and type of subsequent surgeries that were required to achieve this goal. There were 185 cases with a median patient age of 55 and a median follow-up time of 53 months. Most tumors were stage 0-I (68%) or stage II (23%). A single surgery was deemed sufficient to achieve the desired oncological outcome in 54% of cases; the remaining cases (46%) required additional surgeries. A final margin of 5 mm or greater was successfully achieved in 81% of cases. Ninety-two percent of the patients underwent radiotherapy, 65% received hormonal therapy, and 49% underwent chemotherapy. One hundred and sixty one patients had successful breast-conserving surgeries (87%) and 24 patients (13%) ultimately required mastectomy. There were four loco-regional recurrences and 19 deaths during the study period. Our disease-free survival rate for early-stage cancer (stage 0-II) was 91% at 5 years. Our study shows that high-quality patient outcomes for breast-conserving treatment can be achieved in the community setting.