Incorporating of telementoring (Project ECHO) into practice: efficacy of point-of-service testing – breast cancer (ePOST-BC)
Document Type
Other
Publication Date
2020
Abstract
Background: An estimated 327,630 breast cancers (BC) will be diagnosed in the US in 2020, and as high as 14% (45,868) may be related to a hereditary cancer syndrome. Testing eligible patients in clinical practice is hindered by multiple barriers including time, available workforce, cost, lack of organizational pathways, provider knowledge, as well as health disparities. To address some of these barriers, our team provided a telementoring and process improvement intervention for cancer care programs primarily serving rural patients across Kansas and Western Missouri using Project ECHO. We aimed to improve the process surrounding access to genetic education and testing for patients with BC. Methods: Rural and community cancer care teams were invited by the Masonic Cancer Alliance, the outreach arm of the University of Kansas Cancer Center, to participate in ePOST-BC. Five 1-hour Project ECHO sessions (community building, didactic, and case-based learning) covered topics included: 1) essential elements of HCS and genetic testing, 2) guidelines for genetic testing in BC 3) enhanced understanding of risk, screening, and management including precision medicine in HCS, and 4) overcoming barriers to genetic testing and management in low resource settings. Provider and practice readiness was assessed using the Organizational Readiness for Implementing Change survey. A REDCap database was used for registration, surveys and data collection. Results: Ten practices (6 = metro; 4 = rural) participated in the telementoring sessions and five practices participated in the optional process improvement intervention. Provider and clinic interest and participation was high and readiness was varied. Improvements were identified in knowledge, readiness, and patient access to genetic education and testing. The level of engagement in process improvement was impacted by an identified champion (either MD and/or APP), organizational commitment, and motivator (i.e., accreditation standard, business development). Conclusions: Rural and community oncology providers are interested and willing to engage in telementoring to improve implementation of point of service genetic education and testing. This improves provider knowledge, readiness and implementation of testing. Demonstrating a change in testing completion for eligible patients is difficult in a community setting without intensive data collection. Next steps include the incorporation of technology and standardized tools into practice to address provider and care team burden.
Recommended Citation
Nye, L.N., O’Dea, A., Sharma, P., Nelson, E-L., McCarty, T… & Klemp, J. R. Incorporating of telementoring (Project ECHO) into practice: efficacy of point-of-service testing – breast cancer (ePOST-BC). Journal of Clinical Oncology. 2020; 38 (29 supp). Available at: https://ascopubs.org/doi/abs/10.1200/JCO.2020.38.29_suppl.113.
