A study published Monday in the Journal of the American College of Radiology touts a significant increase in lung cancer screening rates after a program targeted patients in rural areas.
The outreach was achieved in collaboration with more than 700 community partners in 18 rural North Texas counties. Since tobacco use tends to be more prevalent in rural areas, getting these patients routinely evaluated for early signs of lung cancer is especially important, the experts suggested. Low-dose CT (LDCT) scans of the lungs are a valuable tool in detecting abnormalities in this high-risk population but getting patients to complete the exam has its challenges.
“At the system level, rural areas may lack integrated public health systems capable of vertical integration of care or providing multiple services required for multidisciplinary screening programs,” Cecelia Brewington, MD, chief of community radiology with the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, and co-authors explained.
As part of the program, experts sought to address the barriers many rural patients face when attempting to access health screenings, including geographic location, income limitations, lack of healthcare education and limited access to radiology facilities.
With these barriers in mind, the outreach program included three components: (1) promoting awareness of lung cancer screenings among local patients and providers, (2) patient telephone eligibility screenings with oncology-certified nurses and (3) certified screening reimbursement for low income, uninsured and underinsured patients.
Over the course of a year, data on LDCT referrals, orders and completion were collected to measure the effectiveness of outreach efforts.
During the first year, 570 additional patients were referred for LDCT. Out of the 488 patients who were deemed eligible for LDCT, 334 completed the screening. The authors noted that once patients were enrolled in the program, their engagement remained high, and at the time of their data compilation almost 70% of eligible patients had completed their screening.
“Implementation, uptake, and completion of LDCT-based lung cancer screening is feasible in rural settings,” the experts wrote. “Community outreach, health promotion and navigation may support such efforts.”
For more information on the initiative, click here.
In addition to her background in journalism, Hannah also has patient-facing experience in clinical settings, having spent more than 12 years working as a registered rad tech. She joined Innovate Healthcare in 2021 and has since put her unique expertise to use in her editorial role with Health Imaging.