Major Investment in Navigation Program Database
The Community Based Cancer Screening Navigation Program is a cancer screening initiative focused on education, barrier reduction and facilitation of screenings for breast, cervical, colon and lung cancer while connecting or reconnecting all participants to a medical home to ensure ongoing preventative care.
The Navigation Program operations are dependent on customized software that tracks all participant related activities. To enhance data security, improve functionality and adapt to remote work, both software and hardware upgrades were required. These updates, including customized software and new computer servers, were made possible by City of Scranton and Scranton Area Community Foundation grants.
The updated system, launched in February 2024, uses standardized procedures to import data from multiple community clinic partners to avoid record duplication, prioritize most needed cancer screenings, and prepare work assignments for navigation staff. Through customized automation, including a click to dial feature, navigators can make direct phone calls, send secure text messages, make referrals to partner services, and generate mailed correspondence based on the participant needs. The new software also aids program managers in creating comprehensive reports on a variety of activities for funders, the NRCI board, and partner organizations.
The enhanced security features provide multiple layers of protection for all data housed in the new platform. The streamlined format maximizes productivity, allowing navigators to reach more participants, aiding in identifying and removing barriers to screening and increasing the number of individuals screened.
The Navigation Program team continues to evaluate the new system and provide feedback to development and configuration consultants and updates are ongoing. Overall, the transition, while a process, has been smooth and well received by staff.
The trained Navigators at the Cancer Institute can provide information about cancer screening recommendations and direction on how to get screened, connect those affected by a cancer diagnosis to local, regional, and national resources and help healthcare professionals with patient support needs. For more information, call us at (570) 904-8808 or visit www.cancernepa.org.