A Model for Demonstrating Sustainable Outreach for Cancer Screening

This blog post is the third in a 6-part series highlighting the achievements of the 2023 ACCC Innovator Award winners before their in-depth sessions at the ACCC 40th National Oncology Conference. You can learn more about the innovations being recognized this year and those who pioneered them by joining ACCC in Austin, Texas, from October 4-6, 2023. 

For several years, St. Elizabeth Cancer Center struggled to find a sustainable program to conduct outreach to patients with outstanding orders for lung, breast, and colon cancer screenings. However, understanding the benefits an effective screening program would have on patients that present at the cancer program, their staff persisted.

“I think we hit an inflection point in 2019 when we did an analysis of the return on investment for breast, colon, and lung cancer screening, and we proved that there was positive return on investment for all those cancer screenings,” said Michael Gieske, MD, medical director of Lung Cancer Screening at St. Elizabeth Health Care. “For every mammogram we ordered, the net revenue was about $150. For every lung cancer screening, the net revenue was $280, and for every colonoscopy that was done, the net revenue was about $220.” According to Dr Gieske, this internal review set the stage for building and expanding their screening efforts by hiring outreach specialists to build their population health support services team.

Program Implementation and Successes

“As an organization, we knew that there was more work to be done to get patients screened,” said Jamie Ries, RN, BSN, manager of Population Health Support Services at St. Elizabeth Physicians, Corporate Office. “Having a team that reaches out to patients to get them screened, prevent cancer and close care gaps has been vital.” Ries believes the population health support services team acts as a safety net for patients who failed to report to the preventative cancer screenings they scheduled. “We knew that that the providers were having that conversation with patients, but there was really no follow-up, as evidenced by our screening numbers not moving,” she explained. “When our team got involved to get these preventative cancer screenings scheduled for the patients, that is really when we started to see that significant improvement.”

The program was launched in August 2021. Now, once a physician or advanced practice provider places an order for a patient to receive a screening, a member of the population health support services team contacts that patient within 72 hours. If they are unable to reach the patient, a follow-up attempt is made a week later. “We send mail and flyers to the patient, and if they are active in My Chart, then we send communications via their patient portal,” Ries said. “Even after that second attempt if that patient has not made contact yet, they fall to our report within 6 months, and that whole outreach process starts again.”  

In 2022, Ries and her team scheduled nearly 5,000 lung cancer screenings, with more than 3,800 of those orders carried to completion. “It is a small department, but we are doing mighty things,” Ries said. “One of the things we say is that we are changing family trees, and we really do believe that.” Dr Gieske echoed her sentiments, postulating that the benefits of their population health support services team are multifaceted. “I think the team we have in place now is going to be well positioned for future,” he said. “I can see them being involved in artificial intelligence, risk modeling, biomarker promotion.”  

Improving the Future of Care

At the ACCC 40th National Oncology Conference this fall, Dr Gieske and Ries will provide an in-depth analysis of their program. “The science of oncology is really in an amazing renaissance now with all the advancements in treatment,” Dr Gieske said. “This space is evolving so rapidly now, that the ability to bring organizations together to learn from one another is truly invaluable. The NOC [National Oncology Conference] provides that.” “We got here today through trial and error so I am interested in sharing strategies cancer programs and practices can adopt, as well as learning from other presenters and attendees,” Ries concluded.

To learn more about developing a sustainable outreach program for cancer screening at your organization, including the technology and support staff needed to find success, register to attend the 2023 ACCC National Oncology Conference in Austin, Texas, from October 4-6, 2023.