February 2017

80% by 2018 Will you commit?

In cooperation with the American Cancer Society and the National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Mexico (BCBSNM) pledged to have 80% of BCBSNM’s members age 50-75 screened for colon cancer by 2018.

Dr. Eugene Sun, BCBSNM’s Chief Medical Officer, said, "Overall health is important to us at BCBSNM. We stronglyencourage all our members age 50 and older to get screened for colon cancer. Members younger than 50 with risk factors for colon cancer may need screening starting at an earlier age. We are reaching out to you, as their providers, to help get the word out and to make colorectal cancer screening a priority."

How far away are we from reaching this goal?

 “In 2016, the national HEDIS average, for all lines of business, was 59.99% compared to BCBSNM’s Commercial PPO/HMO HEDIS result of 49.6%.

We need your help to reach this goal! 
Over the next few months, we will be providing informational articles on Colorectal Cancer (CRC) screening as well as barriers to CRC screening.  These articles will provide useful information such as:

✔ CRC screening test options and selection of the best “fit” for your patient
✔ Overcoming barriers to CRC screening
✔ How to implement a CRC screening program in your practice

What influences these results?
YOU DO!  The biggest influencer to motivate patients to get screened is YOU, the physician, and your staff by combining the ability to identify those who need it AND to engage with your patient to talk about CRC screenings and get them screened!  Once your patients have been screened, they can be easily tracked by your office for annual follow-up.

What actions can you take to make a difference?

✔ Easily identify patients by using colored folders or flagging the EMR for those age 50-75 and start that conversation

✔ Have standing orders for CRC screenings for those age 50-75 and follow through with the patient

✔ Direct your most persuasive and educated staff to answer questions and concerns and help the patient commit and complete CRC screenings