1. Abnormal Colorectal Cancer Test Follow-Up: A Quality Improvement Initiative at a Federally Qualified Health Center
- Author
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Shareef, Faizah, Bharti, Balambal, Garcia-Bigley, Felipe, Hernandez, Monica, Nodora, Jesse, Liu, Jie, Ramers, Christian, Nery, Jill Dumbauld, Marquez, Jessica, Moyano, Karina, Rojas, Sarah, Arredondo, Elva, and Gupta, Samir
- Subjects
Health Services and Systems ,Public Health ,Health Sciences ,Aging ,Colo-Rectal Cancer ,Cancer ,Digestive Diseases ,Prevention ,Good Health and Well Being ,Humans ,Quality Improvement ,Early Detection of Cancer ,Colorectal Neoplasms ,Health Facilities ,Colonoscopy ,Occult Blood ,Mass Screening ,colorectal cancer screening ,federally qualified health center ,abnormal fecal immunochemical test follow-up ,care coordination ,patient navigation ,Public Health and Health Services ,Other Medical and Health Sciences ,Health services and systems ,Nursing ,Public health - Abstract
Introduction/objectivesColonoscopy completion rates after an abnormal fecal immunochemical test (FIT) are suboptimal, resulting in missed opportunities for early detection and prevention of colorectal cancer. Patient navigation and structured follow-up may improve colonoscopy completion, but implementation of these strategies is not widespread.MethodsWe conducted a quality improvement study using a Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) Model to increase colonoscopy completion after abnormal FIT in a large federally qualified health center serving a diverse and low-income population. Intervention components included patient navigation, and a checklist to promote completion of key steps required for abnormal FIT follow-up. Primary outcome was proportion of patients achieving colonoscopy completion within 6 months of abnormal FIT, assessed at baseline for 156 patients pre-intervention, and compared to 208 patients during the intervention period from April 2017 to December 2019. Drop offs at each step in the follow-up process were assessed.ResultsColonoscopy completion improved from 21% among 156 patients with abnormal FIT pre-intervention, to 38% among 208 patients with abnormal FIT during the intervention (P
- Published
- 2024