New National Roadmap Outlines EHR-Based Strategy to Boost Lung Cancer Screening Uptake

Fewer than 1 in 5 eligible U.S. patients receive guideline-recommended low-dose CT (LDCT) screening. As a result, a recent implementation report provides a bundled, system-level roadmap to raise uptake and speed diagnosis. Programs center on EHR registries, automated outreach, standing orders/clinical decision support (CDS), centralized navigation, and streamlined radiology pathways.

Practically, the roadmap recommends an EHR-driven population registry that flags screening-eligible patients, along with automated outreach by mail, phone, and portal to convert eligibility into scheduling opportunities. Standing orders and CDS can prompt primary care at the point of care, and centralized program coordination with navigators and a program manager helps to close loops. According to the guidelines, primary care handles identification and shared decision conversations, while radiology manages capacity and streamlined scheduling and IT/EHR builds registries, CDS, and workflow automation. In addition, the report recommends that program leadership secure funding and data governance and navigators perform outreach and barrier mitigation.

Anticipated barriers include limited imaging capacity, IT integration and workflow fit, competing primary care priorities, coverage and authorization hurdles, and patient-level obstacles such as low awareness, transport, and stigma. Equity tactics are recommended, such as targeted outreach to underserved communities, prioritizing navigator resources to high-need cohorts, and data-stratified monitoring to detect and act on disparities.