Women who choose their own surgeon and hospital get better breast cancer care than those who rely on doctor or health plan referrals. That's because women who said they chose their own surgeon were twice as likely to see a highly experienced surgeon as were those referred by another doctor or by their health plan. The provider-based referral pathway was not associated with surgeon volume.

Steven Katz, MD, director of health services research at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center reported the findings in the Jan. 20 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.