A Study Using TopCare Presented in Toronto
Sanja Percac-Lima, MD, of Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, presented at the Society of General Internal Medicine (SGIM) 2015 Annual Meeting in Toronto this past April. Her presentation shared the findings of a study done using TopCare powered by Blender™ for patient navigation to improve cancer screenings.
Dr. Percac-Lima explained in an article written by Kathleen Louden for the Medscape Medical News that this patient navigation tool is unique for two reasons. The first is this screening can be done to screen for as many as three cancers for each patient. The second is that, as needed, researchers can target “patient navigation resources to those at highest risk for noncompliance with recommended screening test,” Dr. Percac-Lima explained.
The study demonstrates that TopCare, a population health management tool co-developed by SRGT and Massachusetts General Hospital, was effectively used to reduce the number of patients needing screenings to a manageable number. This tool assigns risk points to patients that have missed appointments for primary care, specialized visits and screening tests. It also shows whether or not the patient speaks English, which can hinder access to care.
Four patient navigators were assigned to a group of 792 patients. These patients were randomized to each intervention group. Each navigator called their list of patients to persuade them to schedule a cancer screening. On the call each patient was given information about the importance of the screenings, insurance and special services (i.e. translators) during the appointment.
The cancer screening rates improved with the interventions provided by the navigators.
“We showed that if you do not navigate these patients, they are not as likely to go for screening,” Dr. Percac-Lima said.
Thank you, Dr. Percac- Lima, for presenting this study on what makes TopCare unique.
Read the full article written by Louden at http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/844282.