Bowel Cancer Screening Program: Age eligibility changes from 1 July 2024
From Monday 1 July 2024, the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program will lower the eligible screening age from 50 to 45.
Early detection is crucial in the fight against bowel cancer. By lowering the eligible screening age, more Australians will have the opportunity to catch potential issues early, significantly improving treatment outcomes.
Only 42% of eligible people participated in the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program in 2023.
Knowing if your patient has or hasn't had a bowel screening test is one important factor in increasing participation rates,
says Dr Peter Adkins, GP and Clinical Advisor with the Brisbane South PHN.
Change to eligible age for bowel screening
From Monday 1 July 2024, the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program will expand its eligibility to include people aged 45 to 49. This change allows younger individuals to benefit from early detection of bowel cancer.
- People aged 45 to 49 can now request their first free kit via the NCSR website or from their GP.
- People aged 50 to 74 will continue to receive a bowel cancer screening kit in the mail every 2 years.
- All eligible individuals aged 45 to 74 can ask their doctor about getting a kit.
The program aims to reduce deaths from bowel cancer by detecting early signs of the disease. If found early, more than 90% of cases can be successfully treated. Eligible Australians aged 45 to 74 can do a free test at home every 2 years. Their next test kit will be automatically mailed every 2 years after their last screening test is completed.
Integrate the National Cancer Screening Register with your clinical software
The National Cancer Screening Register (NCSR) aims to streamline how healthcare providers manage cancer screening data.
You can now access your patients’ cancer screening information and submit program forms directly to the NCSR through your clinical software.
Practices using MedicalDirector or Best Practice can integrate their systems to access a patient’s bowel and cervical screening records directly within the patient record.
Incorporating the NCSR into your practice helps to:
- provide a history of screening results to better track patients' past screening outcomes
- ensure timely participation in screening programs by sending patients reminders
- provide a safety net for at-risk individuals so practices are best placed to follow-up and care for their patients who need it most.
Access to the NCSR can be done via PRODA or more easily via a direct link/lookup when using Best Practice, Medical Director and Communicare software. This link can also be used to report follow up actions for positive screening results and to order testing kits for those patients who you have encouraged to participate,
says Dr Peter Adkins.
However, the NCSR does not include faecal occult blood test (FOBT) screening data done by private pathology labs, unlike cervical screening, which does. If there is no record of bowel screening on the NCSR, other sources of bowel screening information are available via My Health Record or the patient’s My Health mobile application (look under 'Medicare Services').
Support from your PHN
Brisbane South PHN have a dedicated coordinator who can come to your practice to support your integration of The National Cancer Screening Register (NCSR) and/or Australian Immunisation Register (AIR) into your clinical information system. Request a PHN coordinator for integration support now.
For further support, email support@bsphn.org.au.
Participate in the Bowel Cancer Screening Project
Brisbane South PHN has partnered with The Daffodil Centre and University of Sydney to monitor the effectiveness of the promotion of bowel screening to patients from general practice teams.
Read more about this incetivised opportunity in the full article: https://bsphn.org.au/news/bowel-cancer-awareness-month-opportunities-for-your-practice-to-join-the-bowel-cancer-screening-project-are-available
Helpful links
- Find local referral pathways and guidance on bowel cancer screening for your patients using the free Brisbane South HealthPathways tool for clinicians. Visit: https://brisbanesouth.communityhealthpathways.org/17273.htm
- The National Cancer Screening Register offers further guidance for clinical software integration: https://www.ncsr.gov.au/information-for-healthcare-providers/accessing-the-ncsr/clinical-software-integration.html