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A statewide approach to reducing re-excision rates for women with breast conserving surgery

  • Jessica R Schumacher
  • , Elise H Lawson
  • , Amanda L Kong
  • , Joseph J Weber
  • , Jeanette May
  • , Jeffrey Landercasper
  • , Bret Hanlon
  • , Nicholas Marka
  • , Manasa Venkatesh
  • , Randi S Cartmill
  • , Sudha Pavuluri Quamme
  • , Connor Nikolay
  • , Caprice C Greenberg
  • , Aurora Complex General Surgical Oncology Faculty
  • Department of Surgery, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.
  • Department of Surgery, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA.
  • Gundersen Health System and Gundersen Medical Foundation, La Crosse, WI, USA.
  • Department of Biostatistics and Medical Informatics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.
  • Clinical and Translational Science Institute, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
  • Department of Surgery, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA, USA.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Objective: Test the effectiveness of benchmarked performance reports based on existing discharge data paired with a statewide intervention to implement evidence-based strategies on breast re-excision rates. Summary background: Breast-conserving surgery (BCS) is a common breast cancer surgery performed in a range of hospital settings. Studies have demonstrated variations in post-BCS re-excision rates, identifying it as a high-value improvement target. Methods: Wisconsin Hospital Association discharge data (2017-2019) were used to compare 60-day re-excision rates following BCS for breast cancer. The analysis estimated the difference in the average change pre-to post-intervention between Surgical Collaborative of Wisconsin (SCW) and non-participating hospitals using a logistic mixed-effects model with repeated measures, adjusting for age, payer, and hospital volume, including hospitals as random effects. The intervention included five collaborative meetings in 2018-2019 where surgeon champions shared guideline updates, best practices/challenges, and facilitated action planning. Confidential benchmarked performance reports were provided. Results: In 2017, there were 3,692 breast procedures in SCW and 1,279 in non-participating hospitals; hospital-level re-excision rates ranged from 5% to >50%. There was no statistically significant baseline difference in re-excision rates between SCW and non-participating hospitals (16.1% vs. 17.1%, P=0.47). Re-excision significantly decreased for SCW but not for non-participating hospitals (OR=0.69, 95%CI=0.52-0.91). Conclusions: Benchmarked performance reports and collaborative quality improvement can decrease post-BCS re-excisions, increase quality, and decrease costs. Our study demonstrates the effective use of administrative data as a platform for state-wide quality collaboratives. Using existing data requires fewer resources and offers a new paradigm that promotes participation across practice settings.

Original languageAmerican English
JournalAnnals of surgery
DOIs
StatusPublished - Oct 1 2022

Keywords

  • breast conservation
  • re-excision

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