Boosting Lung Cancer Screening: A Localized Approach

Lung cancer screening rates in the US are alarmingly low, and the death rate is high. A team from a large urban health system, Jefferson Health, set out to change this. They pinpointed areas in Philadelphia with high lung cancer mortality rates using geocoded data. Then, they found primary care practices serving these areas with the help of electronic health records. To make sure providers were ready, they created an online course to teach them how to involve patients in decisions about lung cancer screening. They also chatted with practice leaders to understand the challenges and opportunities in training. The team found eight high-risk zip codes and eight practices caring for residents there. They partnered with major health organizations to create a free, accredited course for providers. Practice leaders suggested rewarding providers for training and using decision support tools. Health systems can adapt this systematic approach to find areas needing lung cancer screening and train providers effectively. Future research should test this method and check its impact on different patient populations.