Partnership with DC Health Reduces Access Barriers to Boost Cancer Screening

For too long, accessing essential cancer screening records has been a persistent challenge for primary care providers (PCPs) across the District. You and your staff know the struggle: dedicating valuable time to chasing down breast and colorectal cancer screening results from specialists via phone or fax.

We’re excited to announce that CRISP DC and DC Health’s DC3C Program have partnered to address this key challenge. Through targeted outreach and technical integrations, we’ve dramatically improved the quality and quantity of cancer screening data flowing directly into the CRISP DC Health Information Exchange (HIE).

This isn’t just about data—it’s about saving staff time, speeding up follow-up, and ultimately, saving lives through earlier diagnosis.

Notable Achievements

CRISP DC users can now view, access, and download colonoscopy reports, additional mammogram reports, and Cologuard results.

The Impact: Better Care, Faster Work

Integrating full colonoscopy and mammogram reports and lab results into CRISP DC significantly improves the efficiency and timeliness of cancer screening programs across the District.

1. Streamlined Access and Efficiency

• Stop the Chase: Providers no longer need to use the time-consuming traditional request process (phone/fax) to retrieve WHC Colonoscopy, Cologuard, and BCW mammogram screening reports.
• Unified Platform: Accessing Cologuard results is now possible within the familiar CRISP DC portal. Through the Visit Summaries tab, you can search for and download Cologuard results for any patient, regardless of which provider ordered the test or where it was performed.
• Enhanced Workflow: Reports are quickly located under the Clinical Data, Radiology, and Clinical Notes tabs, centralizing information and saving time.

2. Reduced Delays and Stronger Coordination

• Real-Time Follow-Up: Cologuard results are now available in real-time to all participating providers, enabling faster follow-up on abnormal findings.
• Seamless Transition: Critical reports are now shared among primary care, GI specialists, and breast cancer specialists. This reduces the duplication of tests, ensures continuity when patients change providers, and significantly strengthens care coordination.
• Improved Accuracy: Access to complete screening data allows health centers to more accurately report colorectal and breast cancer screening rates for quality improvement initiatives and national reporting measures.

Ultimately, patients benefit from more timely diagnoses, better continuity of care, and fewer missed or delayed screenings, leading to improved health outcomes.

Lessons Learned and What’s Next

Our success proves that collaboration matters—integrating government, private, health system, and community organizations is possible and provides a blueprint for future connections.

A Key Lesson: Technology Alone is Not Enough. This full functionality relies on specialists and hospitals actively sharing their data. Your feedback helps us continue this critical work.

Next Steps for CRISP DC and DC Health:

CRISP DC and DC Health will continue to enhance connectivity by:

• Upgrading the Exact Sciences connection to enable encounter alerts for Cologuard results.
• Assessing connectivity for colorectal screening reports at GW Hospital and Sibley Memorial Hospital.
• Developing resource materials (recorded training, fact sheets) for on-demand access.

Get Started Today!

To ensure your team is maximizing the benefit of this new data, please utilize our dedicated resource materials, which are linked below.

Your CRISP DC Account Managers are also readily available to assist with any technical needs, provide training on how to access the new data within the platform (e.g., using the Clinical Notes and Radiology tabs), and address any questions you may have.

We are committed to making CRISP DC the most valuable, easy-to-use resource for you to close cancer screening gaps and deliver the highest quality care to your patients.