TY - JOUR
T1 - Surviving the COVID-19 pandemic
T2 - navigating the recovery of breast imaging services in a safety-net hospital
AU - Porembka, Jessica H.
AU - Seiler, Stephen J.
AU - Ozcan, B. Bersu
AU - Evans, W. Phil
AU - Tiro, Jasmin
AU - Dogan, Basak E.
N1 - Funding Information:
BBO is fully supported by the Eugene P. Frenkel Scholarship in Clinical Medicine granted to BED by the UT Southwestern Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.
PY - 2023/8
Y1 - 2023/8
N2 - 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.
AB - 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.
KW - Breast cancer disparity
KW - Breast imaging
KW - COVID-19
KW - Safety-net
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U2 - 10.1007/s10549-023-07001-2
DO - 10.1007/s10549-023-07001-2
M3 - Article
C2 - 37330947
AN - SCOPUS:85162221056
SN - 0167-6806
VL - 201
SP - 127
EP - 138
JO - Breast Cancer Research and Treatment
JF - Breast Cancer Research and Treatment
IS - 1
ER -