A multivariable triage model to support direct access of symptomatic breast patients to specialist breast units?

Abstract

Background: Patients with breast symptoms access specialist care when referred by their General Practitioner (GP). The One-Stop Clinics (OSCs) remain the standard of specialist breast care but are resource-dependent, and OSCs are inundated with low specificity referrals, more so, since the Covid-19 crisis. Direct Patient Access (DPA) is theoretically more efficient and avoids delayed diagnoses. However, DPA can potentially further overwhelm breast units with self-referrals unless a reliable triage model that enables risk-based resource allocation is adopted.