System Improvement for Age and Gender-Appropriate Health Screening Practices

Background: The United States Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF) generates evidence-based preventive health screening recommendations for the general adult population, yet recommendation adherence is often unknown or not assessed by primary care providers. Aim: This mixed methods study will evaluate a system level improvement at a free primary care clinic. The goal is to utilize non-provider personnel to assess client preventive health screening history, identify needs and to disseminate age and gender specific information regarding routine health screening recommendations. Method: Participants are volunteers at a local free clinic working in clinic intake, ranging from trained medical personnel to lay people. Participants utilize a form to evaluate what USPSTF screening tests clients have completed and provide information about how to complete necessary screening. Participants are asked about ease in using the screening tool and feasibility of completing the task. Changes are then made to the form and process based upon feedback. Quantitative data are collected from each assessment form to determine if appropriate screening history was collected and information provided. Results: Preliminary data indicate the main barrier to implementation is perceived lack of time to complete assessment. To date, 19 of 45 clients have been assessed and 18 of 19 forms were completed accurately. Conclusion: Implementation of the system improvement will result in more complete healthcare provided to clients through assessing and recommending routine preventive health screening. Implications for other clinics will be to utilize non-provider personnel in innovative ways to ease provider burden for assessing routine health screening needs.