CHAMP: Community Health Assessment and Monitoring in the Pharmacy. Assessing the Impact of a Community Pharmacist Lung Cancer Screening (LCS) Program
Jill Kolesar
Summary
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends annual lung cancer screening (LCS) with low-dose CT for adults aged 50-80 with a ≥20 pack-year smoking history who currently smoke or quit within the past 15 years. Despite insurance coverage, only 17% of eligible Iowans were screened in 2024. Barriers include the complexity of screening and competing demands in primary care. To address these challenges, investigators propose a two-part intervention: a blood-based screening test to simplify LCS and a community pharmacist-led referral program integrated into routine pharmacy care. Eligible patients will be identified at Greenwood Pharmacy in Waterloo, Iowa. Interested individuals will be consented by a pharmacist and engaged in shared decision-making about LCS. Participants may decline screening, complete the DELFI Diagnostics FirstLook lung cancer screening blood test, or pursue CT screening through their primary care physician. Those choosing the blood test will be referred to Cedar Valley Family Medicine. Patients with a positive result will complete a standard shared decision-making visit with their PCP and, if appropriate, undergo confirmatory CT imaging. Patients with a negative result will enter a screening cohort and be re-screened annually for an additional year.
Description
The US Preventive Services Task Force recommends annual lung cancer screening (LCS) with low dose Computerized Tomography (CT) scans for adults aged 50-80 with a 20-pack year smoking history who are current smokers or who have quit within the last 15 years. Despite these recommendations and Medicaid/Medicare coverage, only about 17% of eligible patients were screened in Iowa in 2024. Barriers to implementing LCS are multifactorial and include patient and clinician barriers, specifically complexity of screening and primary care physician competing demands. To overcome these barriers, investigat…