The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) recently reported 2018 Uniform Data System (UDS) data shows significant gains in colorectal cancer (CRC) screening rates in the nation’s federally qualified health centers (FQHCs), also called community health centers.

The UDS CRC screening rate reached 44.1% in 2018, which amounts to a 14 percentage point increase since HRSA began tracking CRC screening as a UDS measure in 2012. Furthermore, 31 health centers reached the 80% goal in 2018, up from 22 in 2017.

Health centers serve 28 million patients, many of which are at or below the federal poverty level and come from underserved communities that experience lower CRC screening rates. Because of this, health centers have tremendous potential to improve CRC screening rates and to reduce CRC morbidity and mortality in racially and ethnically diverse, socioeconomically challenged communities across the country.

The NCCRT would like to congratulate our partners at HRSA and the National Association for Community Health Centers (NACHC) for championing efforts to increase CRC screening among their grantee and member health centers partners. And most of all, we’d like to share a huge round of applause for the staff and providers at health centers for their persistence and innovation in working day in and day out to provide eligible patients with the opportunity to screen for this largely preventable disease.

Read more about the incredible work happening in health centers in a recent post on the 80% Blog. Visit the HRSA website to learn more about the UDS measure and to find the UDS screening rate for health centers in your state.[vc_tweetmeme][vc_facebook]