PATIENT IMPACT

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Early Screening Saves Lives

The age-adjusted overall U.S. cancer death rate has declined by 32 percent from 1991 to 2019, due to major advances in prevention, early detection, and treatment including treatment of aggressive tumors, such as lung cancer and melanoma. During the same period, the number of cancer survivors living in the U.S. has more than doubled from 7.2 million in 1992 to 16.9 million in 2019

According to one estimate examining the direct cost of cancer health disparities during 2002-2007, eliminating racial disparities in incidence of the four most common types of cancer—lung, colorectal, breast, and prostate—would have resulted in $2.3 billion in savings on annual medical expenditures by patients with cancer.

Improving Early Screening Rates

Studies show that helping patients access care through patient navigation helps improve cancer outcomes. Patient navigators are specialized health care or social workers who identify and anticipate patient barriers and help patients overcome these barriers to better access quality cancer screening, diagnosis, and treatment.

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Increased colorectal cancer screenings among racial and ethnic minorities due to patient navigation intervention.

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There has been as much as a 28% patient mortality rate due to patient navigation services.

The Fundamentals of Patient Navigation

We know that in order to help the prevention and reduce the death rate of cancers we must find cancer as early as possible and patients must be as deliberate as possible in follow-ups and treatment plans. Patient Navigation answers that need by acting as the advocate for the patients needs especially for those in minority populations.

Studies have shown positive outcomes by providing patient navigators to Hispanic patients and more frequently providing basic navigation, care coordination, treatment support, and making arrangements and referrals for services. Navigators who reported providing services more frequently to Asian patients provided treatment support and clinical trials/peer support significantly more frequently. There was also a statistically significant positive correlation between frequency of making arrangements and referrals to service and providing clinical trials/peer support and both the number of Native American patients as well as the number of Pacific Islander patients that navigators served.

Patient navigators who saw more patients with private insurance and Medicare reported providing significantly less care coordination. On the other hand, patient navigators who frequently provided services to uninsured patients also frequently provided arrangements and referrals to services. Patient navigators who assisted more uninsured patients also more frequently provided services related to care coordination. Participants who reported assisting more Medicaid patients provided significantly more basic navigation, clinical trials/peer support, and made more arrangements and referrals to services. Finally, patient navigators who saw more patients with private insurance provided more treatment support and clinical trials/peer support services.

Patient navigation provides high-touch services that are specifically designed to troubleshoot multiple types of barriers and respond to the needs of individual patients. Typical services can include:

Sending reminders for appointments through text, mail or phone call

Offering Transportation

Offering Therapy to Cope

Helping patients advocate for treatments

Navigation is evidence-based and a best practice

Thirty-seven studies of patients from populations adversely affected by disparities indicated that screening rates for colorectal, breast, and cervical cancer were higher for patients provided navigation services than those given usual or alternative care. Making sure patients are receiving their timely treatments across each stage of cancer has routinely been identified as one of the markers of survival. Patient navigation helps people stay on course of their treatments.

Videos

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Flint, Michigan

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15 March 2023

Busting Colorectal Cancer Myths | Episode 1: 'Detecting the Silent Cancer' Series

Flint, Michigan

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21 March 2023

Busting Colorectal Cancer Myths | Episode 2: 'Detecting the Silent Cancer' Series

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27 January 2023

Flint Press Conference

Flint, Michigan

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27 January 2023

Flint - Michigan Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist II

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27 January 2023

Your Health & Lungs: What You Need to Know

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27 January 2023

Colorectal Cancer: Preventing a Preventable Disease

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27 January 2023

Cancer of the Cervix: How to Protect Yourself

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27 January 2023

Activate Your Health Care Power - Breast Cancer Education

Innovation

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09 November 2022

Early screening isn’t an option, it’s a matter of life or death.

Video

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05 October 2022

Next Steps in Cancer Health Equity: Are You Ready to Engage the Medicaid Population?

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04 October 2022

Expert panel discusses cancer equity at NMQF Annual Leadership Summit

Stories

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04 October 2022

COVID Diary: Cancer Support Community and Gilda's Club

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04 October 2022

Champions for Total Health: Cancer and Vaccines

CONTACT US

National Minority Quality Forum is a research and educational organization dedicated to ensuring that high-risk racial and ethnic populations and communities receive optimal health care. This nonprofit, nonpartisan organization integrates data and expertise in support of initiatives to eliminate health disparities.

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