Timely Follow-Up of Positive Fecal Occult Blood Tests: Strategies Associated with Improvement
published online 15 June 2009.
Background
In light of previous research indicating that many patients fail to receive timely diagnostic follow-up of positive colorectal cancer (CRC) screening tests, the Veterans Health Administration (VA) initiated a national CRC diagnosis quality-improvement (QI) effort.
Purpose
This article documents the percent of patients receiving follow-up within 60 days of a positive CRC screening fecal occult blood test (FOBT) and identifies improvement strategies that predict timely follow-up.
Methods
In 2007, VA facilities completed a survey in which they indicated the degree to which they had implemented a series of improvement strategies and described barriers to improvement. Three types of strategies were assessed: developing QI infrastructure, improving care delivery processes, and building gastroenterology capacity. Survey data were merged with a measure of 60-day positive-FOBT follow-up. Facility-level predictors of timely follow-up were identified and relationships among categories of improvement strategies were assessed. Data were analyzed in 2008.
Results
The median facility-reported 60-day follow-up rate for positive screening FOBTs was 24.5%. Several strategies were associated with timeliness of follow-up. The relationship between the implementation of QI infrastructure strategies and timely follow-up was mediated by the implementation of process-change strategies. Although constraints on gastroenterology capacity were often sited as a key barrier, implementation of strategies to address this issue was unassociated with timely follow-up.
Conclusions
Developing QI infrastructure appears to be an effective strategy for improving FOBT follow-up when this work is followed by process improvements. Increasing gastroenterology capacity may be more difficult than improving processes of care.
aCenter for Chronic Disease Outcomes Research, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
bVeterans Affairs Office of Quality and Performance, Washington, DC
cEdith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital, Bedford, Massachusetts
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Adam A. Powell, PhD, MBA, Center for Chronic Disease Outcomes Research (CCDOR), One Veterans Drive (111-0), Minneapolis MN 55417
The full text of this article is available via AJPM Online at www.ajpm-online.net.
ABSTRACT