The Current State of Timeliness in the Breast Cancer Diagnosis Journey: Abnormal Screening to Biopsy

There are several steps involved in a breast cancer diagnosis, starting from the initial abnor-mal screening mammogram. Each step from the additional imaging to a biopsy provokes anxiety. Timely attention to these appointments will not only help allay anxiety but also pro-vide better care. While breast facilities routinely audit their performance, currently timeli-ness is not one of the audit parameters. The role of timeliness as a robust quality tool is gaining attention. In this study, we review the timeline of care at our facility over a 1-year period (October 2021-September 2022) and compare them with those reported by National Quality Measures for Breast Centers (NQMBC). Race, ethnicity, location, and type of facil-ity affect the outcome of care and contribute to delays in providing care. In this manuscript, we outline some of the major factors. Societal guidelines outlining some metrics for timeli-ness may be a useful first step.Semin Ultrasound CT MRI 44:56-61 Published by Elsevier Inc.