Transcript
Announcer:
You’re listening to Clinician’s Roundtable on ReachMD. On this episode, we’ll hear from Dr. Jemel Bingham, who will be discussing strategies for integrating colorectal cancer screening into OB/GYN care. Dr. Bingham is a board-certified OB/GYN at Hartford Hospital and other affiliated medical groups in Connecticut.
Let’s hear from him now.
Dr. Bingham:
Colorectal cancer screening fits into the OB/GYN visit today as one of the core or baseline concepts in preventative or preventive care. It allows us to not only practice or focus on OB/GYN per se, but on the total healthcare of our patients.
When I think about integrating screening into practice, the strategies that have helped make it feel seamless rather than disruptive are a focus on the workflow, in terms of the ordering process, staff roles, and EHR prompts.
Specifically, as we have a limited amount of time to address patient's concerns and to conduct appropriate counseling during the annual appointment or during a screening visit, having a streamlined workflow that coordinates with the lab, with the staff, and also through the EMR makes the process a lot smoother, makes it easier for us to integrate, and I think, overall, makes the patient experience go smoothly.
The challenges that I've seen when it comes to completing screening after a positive test—and how we help patients navigate these next steps—all are combined into utilizing the well-established workflow process that we spent time working through and initiating.
To clarify, we see that it is already anxiety provoking for many patients to have the screening, and when a positive test result comes through, they want to feel the support and the guidance and be able to rely on the expertise of the person who helped to initiate the testing. And where we come into play is in working in conjunction with our partners who help to facilitate and provide the screening testing. And, through the EMR or EHR system, we're able to offer a streamlined process to getting them to the subsequent care they need, whether it be a referral to specialist or further testing that I or someone in my office would complete.
We know that there are limited amounts of resources and time in our visits, but through careful and thoughtful communication planning and workflow coordination, you will be able to offer patients a seamless experience that will not only benefit them but will benefit you in being able to take better care of your patients overall.
Announcer:
That was Dr. Jemel Bingham talking about how we can integrate colorectal cancer screening into OB/GYN care. To access this and other episodes in our series, visit Clinician’s Roundtable on ReachMD.com, where you can Be Part of the Knowledge. Thanks for listening!
