Do surgeons convey all the details? A provincial assessment of operative reporting for breast cancer.

INTRODUCTION:A breast cancer synoptic operative report was developed using a modified Delphi process METHODS: Data from the British Columbia Cancer Breast Cancer Outcomes Unit (BCOU) was used to analyze the association between the completion of a synoptic operative report and reporting of operative details and The American Society of Breast Surgeons quality indicators. RESULTS:3662 patients had surgery for breast cancer by 185 surgeons. 2281 reports were narrative and 1007 synoptic. Requested surgical details were more commonly reported with synoptic reports for both posterior (96 vs 58%, p < 0.0001) and anterior margins (96 vs 5%, p < 0.0001). This was true for high and low volume surgeons. Quality Indicators were higher in those cases with an associated synoptic report for high and low volume surgeons. CONCLUSION:Communication of operative details is improved with synoptic reporting. Investment in platforms to facilitate synoptic reporting could improve patient care through improved multidisciplinary communication.