The Norma J. Vinger Center for Breast Care is committed to providing cutting edge, quality care for breast cancer and other breast conditions. To achieve this goal, they measure their performance and compare it to nationally accepted standards. Their aim is to be better than national standards and help create best practices for other facilities across the nation.
Recent audits include a comparison of results at the Norma J. Vinger Center for Breast Care to the National Cancer Institute designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers of the United States, and the National Consortium of Breast Centers. These are just some of the areas where the Norma J. Vinger Center for Breast Care met or exceeded “best observed practices”:
- Percentage of eligible breast cancer patients who undergo lumpectomy instead of mastectomy.
- Low rates of local recurrence of breast cancer after surgery.
- Compliance with guidelines for breast and lymph node biopsies and surgery performed for breast cancer.
- Appropriate use of newer lymph node sampling techniques (sentinel lymph node biopsy).
- Rapid timeline of finding an abnormality on mammography to performing a needle biopsy and receiving the report.
- Accuracy of recalling a patient back for further studies after she has an abnormal screening mammogram (mammography callback rate).
- Rapid return of microscopic pathology reports of biopsies.