About the Plan

The 80% in Every Community Strategic Plan (2020-2024) provides a focused, action-oriented roadmap for stakeholders, collaborators, and cross-sectored partners. Partners are committed to achieving the shared goal of reaching and exceeding 80% colorectal cancer screening rates in communities across the nation. The plan provides a variety of recommended activities that all stakeholders can use to help define, prioritize, and accomplish their goals.

The strategic plan's problem statement, vision, desired impacts, and enduring core values are defined immediately below. Next, our interactive strategic plan outlines four strategic areas of focus, the defining characteristics of 80% communities, recommended activities, expected results, and the overall outcomes of each strategy. Other resources, cases studies, and NCCRT programs are embedded throughout the interactive strategic plan.

Problem Statement

Despite enormous progress in reducing our nation's burden from colorectal cancer (CRC), it remains the 2nd leading cause of cancer death in the United States when men and women are combined.

Several avoidable barriers impede access to lifesaving CRC screening and often disproportionately affect marginalized and at-risk groups. This does not need to be our reality. CRC can often be prevented or caught early with regular screening.

Vision
Core Values
Desired Impacts

Explore the 80% in Every Community Strategic Plan

Assess and Build Capacity in Communities

Catalyze Healthcare Systems

Mobilize at Public Touchpoints

Break Down Policy Barriers

Introduction

Collaborators 

Colorectal Cancer Roundtables | Comprehensive cancer control coalitions & state cancer plans | State departments of health | Community organizations | community healthcare systems | Individual champions: clinicians, advocates, survivors

Why This Area

  • Together, we can achieve colorectal cancer screening rates of 80% across the country.
  • Progress happens when communities embrace this cause and make it their own.
  • Communities grow stronger when resources are pooled to address shared goals and opportunities, when priorities are collaboratively defined, and when accomplishments are celebrated by all.
  • It takes communities committing to coalition building, strategic planning, collective action, and resource allocation to achieve our desired change.

What We Envision

• Stakeholders coordinate through formalized operations and infrastructure, such as coalitions, roundtables, or consortia.

• Data drive decisions.

• Resources are identified to support community to clinic linkages.

• The right evidence-based interventions are targeted to the right groups to address barriers to screening.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

Define what “community” means to your organization or stakeholder group.

Ensure the right stakeholders are at the table and assess operational infrastructure for coordinating state, local, or organizational CRC screening activity.

Identify data sources and assist stakeholders in understanding and using data to identify priority populations.

Map community assets.

Share lessons learned, best, and promising practices for cross-pollination of knowledge and resources.

Engage patients and survivors as champions.

Identify, utilize, and support local physician, public health, and other community champions.

Integrate community CRC screening activities in cooperation with state cancer control plan and other comprehensive cancer control efforts.

EXPECTED OUTCOMES

Near-term Results

• Local organizations and coalitions have an increased capacity to implement evidence-based and best practice interventions.

• Community and coalition stakeholders increase their commitment to use data to find consensus on priority populations for screening interventions.

• Local organizations and coalitions increase their
awareness and use of resources for improving
screening among priority populations.

• Greater visibility, influence, and reduced burnout of local champions.

Long-Term Outcomes

• Increased screening rates in priority groups

• Increased % of those starting screening as recommended

• Increased % of adults who received a strong
recommendation to be screened from their provider,
and where possible, were given test options

• Increased access to quality colonoscopy for screening
and workup of positive non-colonoscopy screening test

• Increased rates to follow-up colonoscopy after a positive non-colonoscopy screening test

• Increased community engagement in the implementation of screening programs and activities

 

Relevant Resources

Case Studies

Introduction

For These Roles

Health and human service agencies | Healthcare systems | Community hospitals, CoC hospitals, and NCI-designated cancer centers | Community healthcare systems and FQHCs | Health plans | Primary care physicians | Specialty providers (gastroenterologists, oncologists, and surgeons) | Office care teams and support staff | Other health system teams (marketing/ communications, human relations, etc). | Research institutions | Cancer control and public health nonprofits

Why This Area

  • We must capitalize on colorectal cancer (CRC) screening opportunities, education, and awareness as people are engaged within a healthcare system.
  • Healthcare systems, facilities, providers, and staff can have a huge impact on screening rates in their communities.
  • It is important that healthcare organizations provide community leadership and identify and address barriers to screening.
  • It is also important for healthcare organizations to implement evidence-based practices that will improve our national and local screening rates.

What We Envision

  • A strengthened medical neighborhood that serves both the uninsured and the insured.
  • Barriers to screening are addressed in urban and remote/ rural areas.
  • Screening processes are optimized in primary care settings.
  • Technology, EHRs, and patient reminders are leveraged to promote screening and follow-up.
  • Clinics have transformed to value-based care and prioritize CRC screening.
  • Patient navigation approaches become a standard of care, are formalized, and optimized.
  • Organizational goals and objectives are aligned with state cancer control plan and Commission on Cancer prevention and screening requirements.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

Define what “community” means to your organization or stakeholder group.

Ensure the right stakeholders are at the table and assess operational infrastructure for coordinating state, local, or organizational CRC screening activity.

Identify data sources and assist stakeholders in understanding and using data to identify priority populations.

Map community assets.

Share lessons learned, best, and promising practices for cross-pollination of knowledge and resources.

Engage patients and survivors as champions.

Identify, utilize, and support local physician, public health, and other community champions.

Integrate community CRC screening activities in cooperation with state cancer control plan and other comprehensive cancer control efforts.

EXPECTED OUTCOMES

Near-Term Results

  • Local organizations and coalitions have an increased capacity to implement evidence- based and best practice interventions.
  • Community and coalition stakeholders increase their commitment to use data to find consensus on priority populations for screening interventions.
  • Local organizations and coalitions increase their awareness and use of resources
    for improving screening among priority populations.
  • Greater visibility, influence, and reduced burnout of local champions.

 

Long-Term Outcomes

  • Increased screening rates in priority groups
  • Increased % of those starting screening as recommended
  • Increased % of adults who received a strong recommendation to be screened from their provider, and where possible, were given test options
  • Increased access to quality colonoscopy for screening and workup of positive non-colonoscopy screening test
  • Increased rates to follow-up colonoscopy after positive non-colonoscopy screening test
  • Increased community engagement in implementation of screening programs and activities

Relevant Resources

Case Studies

Introduction

For These Roles

Employers and industry | Health plans | Media |Advocacy organizations | State and local health departments | Community health and faith-based organizations | Public health / Comprehensive Cancer Control Coalitions & CRC Roundtables

Why This Area

  • It is critical that our colorectal cancer (CRC) screening efforts and programs reach people where they live and work.
  • Non-healthcare affiliated stakeholders play an important role in promoting CRC screening.
  • By leading community and corporate wellness programs to improve awareness, education, and access, more CRCs can be prevented or found early when treatment is most likely to be successful.

What We Envision

  • Market-tested, informed, and culturally competent messaging is individualized and targeted to priority communities.
  • Community champions, including senior leaders from key organizations and recognizable public figures, are identified and empowered.
  • Priority populations are supported by being engaged and represented in community efforts.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

Engage broader community partners that can impact the health of individuals (employers, media, health plans, faith-based organizations, public health departments, community organizations, etc.).

Describe the benefit (ROI) of reaching screening rates of 80% and higher for various stakeholders (employers, policymakers, etc.)

Develop and promote inventories of evidence-based activities that are individualized to a variety of employer and community settings.

Rally around Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month (March).

Communicate screening recommendations and health messages in non-traditional spaces.

Use paid media, earned media, and digital marketing to empower and support local communities in their CRC screening promotion efforts.

EXPECTED OUTCOMES

Near-Term Results

  • More communities and stakeholders are vested in improving screening rates.
  • National and local campaigns reach more diverse audiences.
  • The pool of CRC screening advocates broadens to include leaders from a variety of social, cultural, spiritual, and occupational backgrounds.
  • Exposure to recommended screening messaging increases via traditional and digital media strategies.
  • Patient awareness and use of non-invasive screenings increases.
  • Additional case studies and examples of communities and stakeholders improving CRC screening rates.
  • Funding for screening activities increases and diversifies.

Long-Term Outcomes

  • Increased screening rates in priority groups
  • Increased % of those starting screening asrecommended
  • Increased % of adults who received a strong recommendation to be screened from their provider, and where possible, were given test options
  • Increased access to quality colonoscopy for screening and workup of positive non- colonoscopy screening test
  • Increased rates to follow-up colonoscopy after positive non-colonoscopy screening test
  • Increased community engagement in implementation of screening programs and activities

Relevant Resources

Case Studies

Introduction

Collaborators

Policymakers | Government agencies | Health plans |Accrediting agencies | Professional societies | Healthcare systems leaders | Employers and industry | Survivor and advocacy organizations

Why this area

  • With effective policy, legislative, and regulatory changes, we have the opportunity to make colorectal cancer (CRC) screening more affordable and accessible as a nation and in our local communities.
  • Many stakeholders can play a role in improving public health policies, whether those changes occur in the public, government sector or in a private, institutional setting.

What We Envision

  • Policy loopholes are closed so that colonoscopies required to follow-up a positive non-colonoscopy result are defined and coded as screening, and waived fees for screening colonoscopies include all related costs.
  • State-based and managed Medicaid reimbursement rates are made comparable to Medicare.
  • Implement required quality measures and reporting on timely colonoscopy follow-up for positive non-colonoscopy screening result (e.g. UDS, HEDIS).
  • Promote Medicaid expansion and/or other state-based screening access programs.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

Conduct a landscape review to understand what is included in current quality measures.

Make recommendations on enhancements to quality measures, including recommendations on how data can be captured, standardized, tracked, shared, and exchanged for insight and action; push for enactment.

Develop and implement education for the public and primary care providers about the importance of the adenoma detection rate (ADR) and other colonoscopy quality measures.

Create guidebook of strategies utilized by payers and policymakers to eliminate inappropriate cost-sharing.

Study the complexity of the billing system and identify ways to address multiple bills, unanticipated out of network charges, and other issues.

Where possible, advocate to government and commercial payers to cover the screening process with no out-of-pocket burden to patients.

Compile a national data set on Medicaid CRC screening reimbursement and state-by-state ratio of Medicaid to Medicare rates.

Share policy successes and best practices from states that have systematically overcome screening barriers.

EXPECTED OUTCOMES

Near-Term Results

  • Enhanced quality measures for CRC screening and follow-up are adopted
  • Endoscopy providers and health systems have the incentive to improve their quality.
  • Health plans, health systems embrace follow-up colonoscopy after a positive non-colonoscopy screening test as a measure of quality.
  • Policymakers’ awareness and engagement around CRC activities improves and they advocate for policy change.
  • State and local champions work with policymakers to improve Medicaid reimbursements.
  • State and local champions work with policymakers to remove cost sharing for follow up colonoscopy after a noncolonoscopy screening exam.

Long-Term Outcomes

  • Increased screening rates in priority groups.
  • Increased % of those starting screening as recommended
  • Increased % of adults who received a strong recommendation to be screened from their provider, and where possible, were given test options
  • Increased access to quality colonoscopy for screening and workup of positive non- colonoscopy screening test
  • Increased rates to follow-up colonoscopy after positive non-colonoscopy screening test
  • Increased community engagement in implementation of screening programs and activities

Relevant Resources

Case Studies

Take the 80% in Every Community Pledge