The triple assessment breast clinic- Is the resource being used efficiently?

Abstract

Introduction: Triple assessment is used to assess patients with symptoms suggestive of breast cancer and is facilitated by a one-stop clinic incorporating 3 assessment modalities (clinical, radiological, cytological) into a single clinic in most centres. However one-stop clinics are an inefficient, resource heavy method of outpatient assessment. Moreover there is increasing referral rate to these clinics. Difficulty recruiting breast radiologists to non-screening centres is also further stretching the implementation of one-stop clinics.