Colorectal Cancer Screening Improvement Program

OAFP members have a unique opportunity to take part in a quality improvement (QI) project to increase colorectal cancer (CRC) screening rates in their practice. This program will engage the entire office staff, offer valuable continuing medical education (CME), practice team training, credit toward your American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) Maintenance of Certification Part IV requirement and is provided completely free of charge as a benefit of membership!

Designed with the needs of a busy family medicine practice in mind, the program may be completed independently or by engaging the in-office facilitation model – which is limited to a total of 20 practices statewide. Space is filling fast for the full facilitation model so register today! Selection is based upon a first-come, first-served basis.

Overview Flyer & Project Background
Team Registration
Program Resources and Tools

• In-office facilitation of the customized training program with a trained family physician mentor (limited to those practices selected for the full facilitation model)
• Team access to an Online Learning Collaborative
• Participation in a three-part CME Webinar series focused on QI techniques and patient-centered medical home (PCMH) themes
• Access to CRC screening improvement tools online
• Ability to complete the ABFM MC-FP Part IV module on CRC Screening Improvement through New Jersey Academy of Family Physicians (NJAFP).
• ODH, ACS, Ohio KePro and other key personnel who are willing to assist the practices with transformation – some functions occurring post training
  

Other practices who wish to work more independently, can participate in any component of the program’s offerings without committing to the one-on-one team training session. For example, a practice may choose to participate in the webinar series, use online practice transformation documents, access templates provided through the CRC Screening Improvement toolkit and complete the MC-FP approved module for CRC screening and successfully complete the program. By allowing practices teams to pick and choose the services and benefits that are right for them, the program allows access to over a thousand additional practices across the state at a time and pace of their choosing. By allowing open access to program components, the likelihood of adding additional positive practices outcomes in CRC screening rates is increased.

• ACS produced resource titled, How to Increase Colorectal Cancer Screening Rates in Practice: a Primary Care Clinician’s Evidence-Based Toolbox and Guide 2008
• ABFM certified MC-FP Part IV module on CRC screening improvement through NJAFP. Free access for any family physician.
• Promoting Cancer Screening Within the Patient-Centered Medical Home

For more information on this innovative project, contact the OAFP office at 614.267.7867.

• CRC is the third most frequent invasive cancer diagnosed among Ohio residents. Based on 2003-07 data from Ohio Cancer Incidence Surveillance System (OCISS), it is estimated that during 2011 there will be about 6,400 new invasive CRC diagnoses among Ohioans. About 2,500 Ohioans will die from CRC during 2011. Invasive CRC represents about 11 percent of all new invasive cases and about 10 percent of cancer deaths in Ohio.
• Screening through fecal occult blood test (FOBT), sigmoidoscopy and colonoscopy offers opportunities to reduce the incidence of invasive CRC by detection and removal of adenomatous polyps and to reduce mortality by finding tumors at their earliest and most treatable stages followed by appropriate and timely treatment.

• The 2008 Ohio Behavioral Risk Factor Survey indicates that only 51 percent of Ohioans age 50 and older have had a sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy within the past five years. About 49 percent of Ohioans age 50 and older are not getting screened for CRC.
• Data from OCISS for 2003-08 indicates that about 47 percent of all CRCs are diagnosed at regional or distant stage. Each one of these late stage cases was preventable or could have been found at an earlier stage where prompt and appropriate treatment would result in significantly increased survival.
• Consultation with colleagues at American Cancer Society (ACS) East Central Division and a review of recent peer-reviewed published papers regarding CRC screening reveals that barriers to physician referrals for screening includes, but are not limited to: (a) outdated knowledge, (b) inconsistent guidelines, and (c) inadequate resources and reinforcement.

• A collaborative evidence-based intervention to increase referrals for, and completion of, CRC screening is proposed. This will be a collaborative intervention with Ohio Comprehensive Cancer Control Program, ACS East Central Division, and OAFP.
• OAFP is a dues funded, statewide professional association with more than 4,100 members, including practicing physicians, residents and medical students. OAFP members are high-profile primary care providers in excellent position to increase referrals and to track the referrals for completion for CRC screening. The peer-reviewed published literature and consultations with ACS and OAFP clearly demonstrate that a recommendation from a primary care physician is the strongest predictor for a patient to be screened for CRC.
• This intervention will focus on OAFP members using the professional education materials developed by Thomas Jefferson University Department of Family Medicine in collaboration with ACS: How to Increase Colorectal Cancer Screening Rates in Practice: a Primary Care Clinician’s Evidence-Based Tool Kit and Guide. These professional education materials include three evidence-based strategies to increase CRC screening rates: (1) office policies, (2) reminder systems and (3) communication. Other activities will include: (4) establishing a baseline colorectal cancer screening rate for the practice and (5) tracking the completion of colorectal cancer screening to detect if an increase in screening is taking place as a result of the professional education intervention.