Electronic prompt for surgeons may reduce breast cancer overtreatment

University of Pittsburgh and UPMC Hillman Cancer Center researchers have developed a novel prompt, or ‘nudge’ embedded in the electronic health record that flags, for treating surgeons, older patients with early-stage breast cancer who may be at risk for unnecessary lymph node surgery. In a paper published in JAMA Surgery, the team found that the rate of a surgical procedure called sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) was almost halved among eligible patients after implementing the nudge, suggesting that this simple reminder could reduce overtreatment of older patients with breast cancer. “In breast cancer, there is a growing movement toward precisely Read More