Creating a Community-Wide Safety Net for Centralized Tracking and Management of Incidental Lung Nodule Findings — [MINI PODCAST] Ep 160

Enterprise intelligence software analyzes imaging results of all patients treated at UCHealth to identify and stratify those with high-risk findings. When a concerning abnormality is found, patients and providers are alerted to the finding, and patients are referred for additional follow-up. After this system-wide approach led to a 2,514% increase in actively managed patients, a centralized care management function was implemented to streamline processes, reducing the time to recommend next steps from 34 to 5 days.

Guest:

Nina Thomas, MD

Director, Thoracic Malignancy Pillar of Center for Lung and Breathing

University of Colorado – UCHealth, University of Colorado Cancer Center

Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary Sciences & Critical Care Medicine

                                     University of Colorado School of Medicine

                                     Aurora, Colorado

“This is a universal problem that we have across the country as far as early detection and following up with these patients…so the benefit to coming in person [to a meeting like the NOC] is that it can be a collaborative event where we can have discussions, share ideas and innovations, and improve each other’s systems.”

Hear more about this innovation at the ACCC 41^st National Oncology Conference, October 9-11, 2024, in Minneapolis, Minnesota

Additional Resources:

• Lung Cancer Screening Implementation Change Package
• Reimagining Healthcare for Incidental Lung Nodules
• A 3D Lung Nodule Tool Improves Patient Distress Following LDCT
• Robotic Bronchoscopy