Identifying and closing information gaps in head and neck cancer surgery

Abstract

Contemporary cancer management relies on the precise transfer of information regarding disease and treatment details between a range of providers and facilities. The time of surgery is uniquely responsible for many ambiguities in this oncological information flow, as intraoperative communication and documentation are often unregimented and imprecise. Downstream providers such as radiation oncologists, medical oncologists, and radiologists rely on surgical pathology reports for planning postoperative treatment and surveillance. However, traditional pathology reports lack critical details about the actions taken during surgery and do not make the oncologic clearance status explicit. We identified agents of change to improve information transfer and designed an improved surgical workflow and pathology report that make use of a novel pathologic reporting software to address gaps in the oncologic care timeline. Our updated workflow results in a dynamic final pathology report that integrates annotated 3D scans of the surgical specimen and extirpative defect, unequivocal reconciliation of at-risk and supplemental margins, highlighted preoperative radiographs, and brief narrative summaries by the surgeon and pathologist. These tangible changes aim to improve clarity and continuity in oncologic care.