Have You Completed a Breast Cancer Risk Assessment?

OakLeaf Clinics has invested in software to identify and manage patients at high risk of developing breast cancer. Volpara® Risk Pathways™ is a market-leading software program that simplifies risk assessment and helps enable women to receive the right breast care based on their risk factors.

During their lifetime, one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer. Furthermore, breast cancer is predicted to be the leading cause of cancer death in women in 2022. This makes it imperative for women to not only receive regular mammography screening but, together with their healthcare providers, to understand their personal risk of developing breast cancer so that they can be triaged to additional care if necessary.

"Breast cancer risk assessment is a priority for OakLeaf Clinics in our effort to enable early detection of cancer for our patients," said Dr. Wells Mangrum, Radiologist. "Implementing Volpara Risk Pathways has given us the tools to identify and manage high-risk patients to help us ensure that every patient is getting the care that is right for them."

The patient plays a very important role in their own risk assessment by providing details on personal and family history. Volpara Risk Pathways makes it easy to reach women, whether they are in a primary care or OB-GYN office or at home. The easy-to-access digital health questionnaires can be completed from anywhere with an internet connection. Once a patient's personal risk information has been collected, OakLeaf Clinics can access a set of risk models and clinical guidelines to accurately identify and triage high-risk patients to follow-up care, including genetic testing and medical imaging such as mammography, ultrasound, or breast MRI.

"Genetic testing and follow-up imaging have generally been reserved for patients who were already diagnosed with breast cancer," said Dr. Mangrum. "We want to get ahead of this problem -- why wait for cancer to happen? We want all our patients to have the chance to know if they are at high risk, and then together we will make a plan for prevention strategies and devise personalized early detection screening plans."

Volpara Risk Pathways also facilitates convenient integration with leading genetic labs. Once a need for genetic testing or other follow-up care has been determined, the software makes it easy for healthcare providers to track the patient's progress, update their risk profile, and generate additional communications, including educational and medical necessity materials.

Dr. Mangrum said: "Cancer care is always progressing, but right now, until there is a cure, early detection is the best chance we can give patients if they do face a cancer diagnosis. Volpara Risk Pathways gives us the best shot at reducing suffering for patients and families in our community."