| dc.description.abstract | Introduction: Colorectal cancer is the fourth most common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer death in North America. Annually, approximately 53,000 people die of colorectal cancer, yet it is largely preventable through screening. Our quality improvement initiative was to attempt to increase colon cancer screening in United States Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF) eligible patients in the OU IM clinic by 10% by April 2020.
Methods: All patients seen in the OU Internal Medicine clinic were screened for eligibility of colon cancer screening using the USPSTF criteria. If the patients were found to be eligible they were offered several screening possibilities to include colonoscopy, FIT testing, and cologuard screening. The necessary means to undergo testing was then arranged for the individual patient in order to attempt to increase the amount of colon cancer screening by 10% by April 30, 2020. Several PDSA cycles were planned but unfortunately, with the onset of the SARS- CoV2 pandemic only one was able to be implemented throughout the year. The first PDSA cycle consisted of drafting a standardized letter which was added to the clinic EMR that would allow patients to bring a guest with them via SoonerRide to their colonoscopy appointment. Lack of appropriate support to appointments had been a barrier to patient’s ability to keep their screening appointment. The clinic providers and nurses were educated on how to locate and complete the letter.
Results: The patient population studied included all eligible adults for colon cancer screening, as defined by the USPSTF guidelines, at the OU Tulsa Internal Medicine clinic. Our data showed that following the implementation of the first PDSA cycle the percentage of patients out of total qualifying patients in the OU IM clinic who have documented colon cancer screening done or had reason why deferred remained at 65.1%. There were no significant increases or decreases in the total percentage. Following the onset of COVID-19 pandemic, the percentage decreased to as low as 62.7%.
Conclusion: There was neither a significant increase or decrease in colon cancer screening in the five months following implementation of the first PDSA cycle. However, in March 2020 the American Cancer society recommended that all routine (non-diagnostic) cancer screenings be suspended in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, screening rates decreased by 86% relative to the average before January 2020. Going forward, a focus on FIT like testing may be beneficial during these times to reduce rates of missed cancers. | en_US |
