Neoplasms

All Conditions

Skin and Connective Tissue Diseases

Respiratory Tract (Lung and Bronchial) Diseases

Digestive System Diseases

Urinary Tract, Sexual Organs, and Pregnancy Conditions

Carcinoma

Breast Neoplasms

Lung Neoplasms

Carcinoma, Hepatocellular

Urinary Bladder Neoplasms

Gastrointestinal Neoplasms

Digestive System Neoplasms

Gastrointestinal Diseases

Adenocarcinoma

Neoplasms, Glandular and Epithelial

Neoplasms by Histologic Type

Liver Neoplasms

Liver Diseases

This intervention will consist of two related, continuous steps over at least a 12-month period. In the first step, the investigators will query the VA's Corporate Data Warehouse (CDW, a repository of near real-time patient data from all VA medical centers) weekly to identify possible lost to follow-up events in a pre-specified time period and for a random sample of about half of the providers at the investigators' study sites. These identified patient charts will be reviewed by Facility Recipients/Cancer Trackers at each site who will then communicate patients truly found to be lost to follow-up to the appropriate provider/care team.

In the usual care group, providers will continue to use the existing notification system to receive abnormal test results in accordance with institutional norms, policies, and procedures. There are no formal patient-tracking programs currently at our study sites for all abnormal test results. The investigators will apply our computerized surveillance tools in the usual care arm only when the investigators are ready to conduct the final chart reviews on intervention patients and identify these patients in similar time periods as in the intervention arm. If persistent delays are found, the investigators will inform the patients' primary care providers.

The investigators will query the VA's database weekly to identify possible lost to follow-up events for a random sample of about half of the providers at our study sites. The queries will use the trigger criteria developed in our previous work for colorectal cancer, lung cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, breast cancer, and bladder cancer. The list of trigger positive patients will be transmitted to a facility-level recipient who will either disseminate the information to existing facility individual cancer care coordinators/trackers or will review the charts of the "triggered" patients in order to determine whether these patients have been truly lost to follow-up or not. If patients are found to be lost to follow-up, the Facility Recipient or cancer care coordinator/tracker will communicate the need for follow-up to the PACT or primary care provider, using secure emails, phone calls, or in person, depending on which method of communication they deem most appropriate and effective.

Communication of Patients Lost to Follow-up to Providers

Hardeep Singh, MD MPH BS

Many missed and delayed cancer diagnoses result from breakdowns in communication and coordination of abnormal findings suspicious for cancer, which often first emerge in the primary care setting. Delays in the follow-up of abnormal test results persist despite the reliable delivery of test results through the electronic health record.

This intervention is the final study in a three-phase project that will develop and test an innovative automated surveillance intervention to improve timely diagnosis and follow-up of five common cancers in primary care practice.

The investigators hypothesize that the median time in days from diagnostic clue to follow-up action (e.g. time to colonoscopy examination after am abnormal colon-related test) will be significantly less in the intervention arm than in usual care. The investigators also hypothesize that the proportion of patients receiving appropriate and timely follow-up care will be significantly higher in the intervention arm than in usual care.

The CREATE Project encompasses three phases, the first and second of which do not contain interventions. The first phase of the project determines the effectiveness of computerized queries the investigators develop to accurately identify which patients are at risk for delays in cancer diagnosis. Patients the investigators identify will have abnormal test results or symptoms that have not been followed up by their providers. In Phase 2 of the study, the research team will use interviewing and other participatory techniques to determine the best way to convey information about such at-risk patients to providers in an automated fashion. In Phase 3 of the project, the investigators will evaluate the effects of an automated surveillance intervention on the timeliness of the diagnostic process of five cancers.

This project will improve communication and coordination of cancer-related diagnostic information to improve quality and safety.

Intervention Protocol for Automated Point-of-Care Surveillance of Outpatient Delays in Cancer Diagnosis

Automated Point-of-Care Surveillance of Outpatient Delays in Cancer Diagnosis

The investigators will conduct chart reviews of patients shown by our automated surveillance system to have not received appropriate follow-up care in both intervention and control groups at least 6 months after the first documentation of a diagnostic clue (e.g., initial abnormal chest X-ray). Chart review will be used to quantify time in days from documentation of the clinical clue to the time when follow-up action on that clue was initiated.

VA Office of Research and Development

Spots Global Cancer Trial Database for triggers

Every month we try and update this database with for triggers cancer trials from around the world to help patients and their families find trials that might be right for them.
We offer this 100% free of charge and do not endorse any of the trials listed here, we hope it helps you or a loved one.

Spots Global Cancer Trial Database for triggers

Every month we try and update this database with for triggers cancer trials from around the world to help patients and their families find trials that might be right for them. We offer this 100% free of charge and do not endorse any of the trials listed here, we hope it helps you or a loved one.

Every month we try and update this database with for triggers cancer trials from around the world to help patients and their families find trials that might be right for them.
We offer this 100% free of charge and do not endorse any of the trials listed here, we hope it helps you or a loved one.