Why Screening? Improvement Facilitator Training Session 1 Day 1

Objectives To understand why the focus is on screening and prevention

Why Screening? TOP Data Family physicians do a good job of screening patients – when patients book screening appointments! About 1/3 of patients with physicians do not present for screening

The “Gap” in Screening

Process Change Hypertension Dyslipidemia Diabetes Breast Cancer Cervical Cancer Colorectal Cancer Exercise Tobacco Alcohol Obesity Flu Vaccine

What we know… Good things happen when provider and patient come together for screening

Whether “opportunistically”… “While you’re here…”

… or through “outreach” The Clinic The Patient “We invite you…”

Aren’t these the least ill patients?? “Studies indicate that most cardiovascular deaths occur in patients who were never diagnosed with vascular disease” National Post, February These are tomorrow’s seriously ill patients. “I wish we had caught this earlier.”

Summary Improving screening rates now can prevent serious illness later More than 1/3 of attached Alberta patients aren’t being screened We need to look at different strategies for screening than we’ve used in the past