STD Screening Program for At-Risk Women Team: Women’s Health Physician Practice Sharon Bird RN Margaret O’Connor RN

The Problem: Chlamydia is a treatable sexually transmitted disease (STD) with 3 million new cases reported each year. National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) implemented a national campaign to test every sexually active woman, 25 years and younger, for chlamydia NCQA baseline screening data (2003): 30% of women with commercial insurance 44% of women with Medicaid

Loyola’s Opportunity: Baseline Loyola data for STD screening –33% for all sexually active women, 25 years and younger, which is similar to NCQA data Goal: –To offer STD screening to all sexually active women, 25 years and younger

Why STD screening is not offered Lack of physician awareness regarding the NCQA screening campaign Lack of patient education related to STD screening Patient refusal

Solutions Implemented Collected baseline data Decided to use Gen-probe specimen collection Screens for chlamydia and gonorrhea Established accountability for screening Physician education program Staff nurse education Shared results with physicians and staff

Accountability for Screening NurseResponsibilities: Rooms patientRooms patient Offers screeningOffers screening Offers writtenOffers written education materials education materials Sets up suppliesSets up suppliesPhysicianResponsibilities: Counsels patientCounsels patient Performs testPerforms test Instructs patientInstructs patient to call back for to call back for results results

Results:

Analysis STD screening has improved since project implementation in January 04 Loyola’s 4 th quarter performance is greater than the NCQA baseline 47% of women with commercial insurance 17% higher than NCQA 53% of women with Medicaid 9% higher than NCQA

Next Steps Current data does not include patient refusal rate. Plan to begin collection of this data in 2 nd quarter,2005. If needed, based on refusal rates, review and revise patient education plan Ongoing education of physicians and staff