Promotion of Colorectal Cancer Screening in University of Texas Medical Branch internal medicine clinics: a quality improvement study
Aspen Stuart
University of Texas Medical Branch - Galveston
Colorectal cancer (CRC) screening has demonstrated to be a cost-effective strategy with the potential to markedly reduce CRC incidence and mortality. According to the CDC, approximately 40% of age-eligible adults are not currently being screened. This data demonstrates that despite its strong potential for positive outcome, this surveillance tool continues to be underused in the clinical setting. We aim to improve current clinic CRC screening rates by 10% by the end of May 2019. Patients will be assessed for CRC screening via a form at University of Texas Medical Branch Health Pediatrics and Adult Primary Care Clinic, which addresses if they have ever been screened in the past, and if so, by which screening modality. Those patients that indicate they have never been evaluated in the past for CRC will be provided with an educational piece on the disease and the types of screening tests available. This poster will include our data collected after (1) month of intervention including percentage of patients over the age of 50 that were screened with our form, as well as the change in percentage of our patient population who have been adequately screened for CRC. Our outcomes will guide the future direction of this project and show whether our intervention is effective. The sustainability of this project at our current University of Texas Medical Branch internal medicine locations, as well as future spread to other University of Texas Medical Branch primary care providers and settings, will be evaluated. As SCOPE students and future primary care providers, our project will guide our future practices and lead us to be physicians which prioritize quality improvement for our patients.