FaHRAS-Online included as part of Health Innovation Network Case Study
Health Innovation Network has published a case study that highlights the role of FaHRAS-Online in providing risk assessment outside of specialist setting, as used as part of an NHS breast pain pathway.
The East Midlands Breast Pain Pathway (EMBPP) is the first service of its kind in the UK implementing Community Breast Pain Clinics for the management of women presenting with breast pain. It uses the FaHRAS solution as a triage tool, enabling the completion of the primary care cancer risk assessment. It provides timely support, avoiding unnecessary patient anxiety and saves NHS resources.
FaHRAS has been involved in this NHS pathway from an early stage and has been delighted to work with stakeholders to help enable this service transformation. FaHRAS has also been supported by Health Innovation East Midlands (HIEM) which has helped inform this innovative work.
The software is currently used by a number of NHS provider organisations throughout the NHS to support this pathway, both within the East Midlands and beyond. By providing objective risk assessment for familial breast cancer, the majority of patients presenting with breast pain, who are not at risk, are able to receive effective reassurance. Those identified at risk are able to go on and receive further specialist advice with timely healthcare intervention where appropriate. As part of the National Audit of these Community Breast Pain Clinics, 97% of patients stated they found the information regarding their personal risk of developing breast cancer helpful.
Breast pain alone is not a symptom of cancer and there is no link between breast pain and your family history risk. However, anxiety is a common feature in breast pain presentation and the drivers for this anxiety may not always stem solely from breast pain. This anxiety may be driven by a range of factors including affected friends and/or family members, national cancer messaging, general cancer awareness, and/or TV plot lines. It is therefore not uncommon to find patients with a family history presenting within a breast pain clinic as their presentation may also in part be driven by anxiety around affected family members. Through this risk assessment, these patients are being identified at the earliest possible opportunity and are able to receive appropriate onward referral, driving early cancer detection within the community.