Impact of a Nurse Navigator on Genomic Testing and Timely Treatment Decision Making in Patients With Breast Cancer

The purpose of this quality improvement project was to define best practices for identifying appropriate patients for genomic testing and improve timeliness for ordering tests and reporting results. An interdisciplinary team of surgeons, radiologists, medical oncologists, and nurses agreed that the RN navigator would be the key person to facilitate timely access to genomic profiling. At a Glance Genomic profiling has become the standard of care for patients with early-stage breast cancer to assist in developing individualized treatment plans. Nurse navigators can play a key role in improving timeliness of care. The APN-RN model led to improvements in turnaround time and complicance with the National Comprehensive Cancer Network's recommendations for genomic testing.