Screen Up

Screen Up

The Problem

Louisiana has some of the highest death rates in America for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancers. All three types of cancer are very common and often don’t show warning signs. Screening is the best way to prevent these cancers and detect them early when they are easiest to treat.

What We Do

Screen Up raises breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening rates across Louisiana by facilitating quality improvement work at primary care clinics and health systems. We teach clinics how to use national experts’ guidelines, quality improvement best practices, and evidence-based interventions (EBIs) to create tailored, sustainable changes. By using strategies that are proven to be effective, clinics improve the quality and rate of cancer screenings which reduces health care costs and saves the lives of more patients. Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Screen Up offers support for EBIs including:

  • Provider assessment and feedback
  • Provider reminders
  • Client/patent reminders
  • Reducing obstacles that limit access to quality care

Successes

Below are examples of how clinics across the state have partnered with Screen Up to improve their breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening rates:

  • CareSouth Medical and Dental doubled their colorectal cancer screening rate in 2 years from 17% to 35%.  They have now piloted the CDC funding for follow up colonoscopies and have just begun working with CareMessage to easily elicit additional patient feedback.
  • Through working with Screen Up, CrescentCare increased it cervical cancer screening rate by 9 percentage points by sending patient reminders, prioritizing cervical cancer screening in daily huddles, and sending providers “scorecards” on their screening rate and giving strategies for improvement.
  • InclusivCare’s completed colonoscopy rate, already high in 2021 at 70%, went up to 78% in 2023.  This rise in CRC screening rate is largely due to their intentional focus on increasing patient completion through patient navigation and patient reminders, and provider reminders and provider assessment and feedback keeping their improvement goals in the forefront.
  • In five years, the New Orleans East Louisiana Community Health Center (NOELA), increased its breast cancer screening rate from 35% to 73%. Screen Up helped with improving patient and provider reminders and partnering with Women’s Hospital to use their mobile “Mam Van” to improve access to screening.
  • In 2021, Open Health Care Clinic began working with Screen Up to improve their colorectal cancer screening rates which was 29% at baseline in March 2021. In the same year, Open Health was able to raise their screening rate to 33% by improving their CRC screening workflows including patient reminders, sending monthly “scorecards” to providers, and offering Uber Health rides to patients.
  • Start Corporation Community Health Center quadrupled their colorectal cancer screening rates in 3 years, emphasizing daily huddles and a Cologuard-first strategy, along with patient reminders and provider assessment & feedback.
  • Baton Rouge Primary Care increased their overall CRC screening rate from 24% to 28%, and their FIT return rate from 19% to 43%. Greater provider awareness of screening options helped them both raise the overall rate and more than double their FIT return rate in their first year with Screen Up.
2023 Screen Up Brag Sheets – BRPCC 2023 Screen Up Brag Sheets – CareSouth 2023 Screen Up Brag Sheets – CrescentCare 2023 Screen Up Brag Sheets – ICCHC
2023 Screen Up Brag Sheets – InclusivCare 2023 Screen Up Brag Sheets – Open Health Final 2023 Screen Up Brag Sheets – Start

Eligibility

Screen Up targets clinics with low screening rates (less than 60%) in areas with the highest numbers of new cases of late-stage cancer and/or high Medicaid or uninsured population.

What Participating Clinics Receive

  • A no cost practice facilitator
  • A grant to support implementation of EBIs. Funds can be used for:
    • Salaries directly related to increasing screening (project champion, patient navigator, coordinator)
    • HIT enhancements
    • Consultants (HIT/QI)
    • Professional development/provider education
    • Packaging and mailing of FIT kits
    • Client reminders—mailers, emails, texts or calls
  • Technical assistance for collecting and using data and reporting
  • Progress reports
  • Supporting webinars and CE opportunities
  • Online resources
  • Promoting services and success: brag sheets, social media, CDC success stories
  • Professional development/training. Previous topics include:
    • Colorectal Cancer Screening 101
    • Process Mapping
    • Case Studies
    • Using Data for Improvement
    • Root Cause Analysis
    • Motivational Interviewing
    • Six Sigma Boot Camp
    • Achieving QI Sustainability in Health Care

 

To learn more about participating in Screen Up, email Dr. Bilikisu “Reni” Elewonibi at belewo@lsuhsc.edu.