Mapping Patient Encounters in Breast Cancer Care: An Analysis of 8800 Clinical Encounters Among Patients Undergoing Mastectomy.

BACKGROUND: Transitions toward value-based systems require a comprehensive definition of the complexity and duration of provider effort required for a given diagnosis. This study modeled the numbers of clinical encounters involved in various treatment pathways among breast cancer patients undergoing mastectomy. METHODS: Clinical encounters with medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, breast surgeons, or plastic surgeons ≤4 years after diagnosis among all patients undergoing mastectomy from 2017 to 2018 were reviewed. Relative encounter volumes were modeled each 90-day period after diagnosis. RESULTS: A total of 8807 breast cancer-related encounters from 221 patients were analyzed, with mean (SD) encounter volume 39.9 (27.2) encounters per patient. Most encounters occurred in the first year after diagnosis (70.0%), with years 2, 3, and 4 representing 15.8%, 9.1%, and 3.5% of encounters, respectively. Overall stage was associated with encounter volume, with higher encounter volume with increasing stage (stages 0: 27.4 vs I: 28.5 vs II: 48.4 vs III: 61.1 vs IV: 80.8 mean encounters). Body mass index (odds ratio [OR], 0.22), adjuvant radiation (OR, 6.8), and receipt of breast reconstruction (OR, 3.5) were also associated with higher encounter volume (all P 's < 0.01). Duration of encounter volume varied by treatment phases, with medical oncology and plastic surgery sustaining high clinical encounter volume 3 years after diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: Encounter utilization in breast cancer care persists 3 years after index diagnosis and is influenced by overall stage and treatment characteristics, including receipt of breast reconstruction. These results may inform the design of episode durations within value-based models and institutional resource allocation for breast cancer care.

Duke Scholars

Author Ronnie Shammas