Surviving the COVID-19 pandemic: navigating the recovery of breast imaging services in a safety-net hospital.

Autor: Porembka JH; Department of Radiology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA. Jessica.Porembka@utsouthwestern.edu., Seiler SJ; Department of Radiology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA., Ozcan BB; Department of Radiology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA., Evans WP; Department of Radiology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA., Tiro J; Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.; Department of Population and Data Sciences, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA., Dogan BE; Department of Radiology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Breast cancer research and treatment [Breast Cancer Res Treat] 2023 Aug; Vol. 201 (1), pp. 127-138. Date of Electronic Publication: 2023 Jun 18.
DOI: 10.1007/s10549-023-07001-2
Abstrakt: Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of COVID-19 on county safety-net breast imaging services and describe the steps taken to actively manage and mitigate delays.
Methods: This was an IRB exempt retrospective review of our county safety-net breast imaging practice analyzed for 4 distinct time periods: (1) "Shut-down period": March 17, 2020 to May 17, 2020; (2) "Phased re-opening": May 18, 2020 to June 30, 2020; (3) "Ramp-up": July 1, 2020 to September 30, 2020; and (4) "Current state": October 1, 2020 to September 30, 2021. These time periods were compared to identical time periods 1 year prior. For "Current state," given that the 1-year prior comparison encompassed the first 3 periods of the pandemic, the identical time period 2 years prior was also compared.
Results: Our safety-net practice sustained significant volume losses during the first 3 time periods with a 99% reduction in screening mammography in the shut-down period. Cancers diagnosed decreased by 17% in 2020 (n = 229) compared to 2019 (n = 276). By implementing multiple initiatives that targeted improved access to care, including building community-hospital partnerships and engagement through outreach events and a community education roadshow, we were able to recover and significantly exceed our pandemic screening volumes by 48.1% (27,279 vs 18,419) from October 1, 2020 to September 30, 2021 compared to the identical time period 1 year prior, and exceed our pre-pandemic screening volume by 17.4% (27,279 vs 23,234) compared to the identical time period 2 years prior.
Conclusion: Through specific community outreach programs and optimized navigation, our safety-net breast imaging practice was able to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on our patient population by increasing patient engagement and breast imaging services.
(© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
Externí odkaz: