Organizational Factors Affect Safety‐Net Hospitals’ Breast Cancer Treatment Rates
Published online on November 14, 2016
Abstract
Objective
To identify key organizational approaches associated with underuse of breast cancer care.
Setting
Nine New York City area safety‐net hospitals.
Study Design
Mixed qualitative–quantitative, cross‐sectional cohort.
Methods
We used qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) of key stakeholder interviews, defined organizational “conditions,” calibrated conditions, and identified solution pathways. We defined underuse as no radiation after lumpectomy in women <75 years or mastectomy in women with ≥4 positive nodes, or no systemic therapy in women with tumors ≥1 cm. We used hierarchical models to assess organizational and patient factors’ impact on underuse.
Principal Findings
Underuse varied by hospital (8–29 percent). QCA found lower underuse sites designated individuals to track and follow‐up no‐shows; shared clinical information during handoffs; had fully integrated electronic medical records enabling transfer of responsibility across specialties; had strong system support; allocated resources to cancer clinics; had a patient‐centered culture paying close organizational attention to clinic patients. High underuse sites lacked these characteristics. Multivariate modeling found that hospitals with strong approaches to follow‐up had low underuse rates (RR = 0.28; 0.08–0.95); individual patient characteristics were not significant.
Conclusions
At safety‐net hospitals, underuse of needed cancer therapies is associated with organizational approaches to track and follow‐up treatment. Findings provide varying approaches to safety nets to improve cancer care delivery.