How a new ‘super screener’ is helping prevent cancer in patients without a family doctor - The Globe and Mail
How a new ‘super screener’ is helping prevent cancer in patients without a family doctor - The Globe and Mail
Recent study finds that 73.1 per cent of Ontario patients with doctors were up to date on cancer screening, compared with 49.5 per cent of people who relied on walk-in clinics
Relevant bits:
As the number of Canadians without a family doctor rises, preventive health services are at risk of falling by the wayside. People with family physicians are far more likely to be screened for cancer than those who rely on walk-in clinics, according to a recent study published in the journal Preventive Medicine. It found that 73.1 per cent of Ontario patients with doctors were up to date on their colorectal cancer screening, compared with 49.5 per cent of people who relied on walk-in clinics. The gap was similar for breast and cervical cancer screening.
The new program she and her colleagues pitched at Amazon is one such example and could provide a road map for cancer screening in other parts of Canada grappling with the same shortage of family doctors.
The Champlain Regional Cancer Program, which serves patients in Ottawa and nearby counties, hired nurse practitioner Sarah Junkin-Hepworth in July to provide and co-ordinate screening services for people without doctors. She’s been dubbed the “super screener.”
To qualify for the super screener’s help, patients must have an Ontario Health Insurance Program (OHIP) card, reside in the Champlain region, meet the age or family-history requirements of Ontario’s cancer-screening programs and be without a doctor.