Automatic referral of potential thoracic malignancies detected on CT scan

Abstract Background Delays in care negatively impact patients with potentially resectable thoracic malignancies. Our institution established an automatic referral process for patients with suspicious chest CT scans. The objective of this study was to determine whether automatic referral was associated with decreased time to referral and/or differences in the quality of referral information received. Methods A single-centre retrospective review of patients referred to a Canadian tertiary thoracic surgical center was performed. Time between CT scan and date of referral was calculated and the type of information provided with the referral was tabulated. Automatic and traditional referral groups were compared using Student's t test, Mann-Whitney U test and multivariable analysis. Results 689 patients met inclusion criteria, of which 405 were automatic referrals. Average time to referral was shorter in the automatic referral group (4.7 vs 23.6 days, p Conclusions Automatic referrals for patients with potential thoracic malignancy have a significant beneficial impact on delays in care, which could result in improved outcomes, such as decreased upstaging and improved survival. This was not associated with a decrease in the amount of information provided with the referral. Thus, automatic referrals may streamline patient care without compromising quality.