2024 World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC) - Posters-P2.17B.03 Improving Lung Cancer Screening Utilization and Efficiency Through a Patient-Centered Pathway with Virtual Visits

P2.17B.03 Improving Lung Cancer Screening Utilization and Efficiency Through a Patient-Centered Pathway with Virtual Visits

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The study, titled "Improving Lung Cancer Screening Utilization and Efficiency Through a Patient-Centered Pathway with Virtual Visits," by researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, aims to evaluate the effectiveness of virtual visits in enhancing lung cancer screening (LCS) through a centralized lung cancer screening program (C-LCSP). The traditional approach to lung cancer screening, which requires face-to-face shared decision-making (SDM) counseling visits before ordering a low-dose CT scan, is identified as a time-consuming barrier that can potentially hinder screening efforts.<br /><br />The COVID-19 Public Health Emergency facilitated the temporary approval for these SDM visits to be conducted via telehealth under Medicare, although the uptake of telehealth services has diminished following the expansion of the waiver. The study launched a predominantly virtual C-LCSP alongside an existing provider-managed LCS at an academic medical center in Los Angeles.<br /><br />A retrospective cohort analysis revealed significant outcomes. An 8-fold increase in annual lung cancer screenings was recorded over two years following the program's launch. Specifically, 38% of these low-dose CT scans were part of the centralized program, with 95% of these visits conducted via telehealth. The centralized pathway witnessed a more robust uptake, showing a 106% increase in screenings in its second year compared to an 85% increase in the provider-managed pathway.<br /><br />The study suggests that a patient-centered, virtual SDM counseling visit can successfully enhance lung cancer screening. However, further exploration is needed to understand the causality beyond the convenience of virtual visits and to evaluate potential trade-offs including risks to marginalized racial and socio-economic groups less likely to use telehealth services.

Asset Subtitle

Sara Ghandehari

Meta Tag

Speaker Sara Ghandehari

Topic Global Health, Health Services & Health Economics

Keywords

Lung Cancer Screening

Virtual Visits

Patient-Centered Pathway

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

Telehealth

Centralized Lung Cancer Screening Program

Shared Decision-Making

COVID-19

Retrospective Cohort Analysis

Socio-economic Groups