Use of a Colorectal Cancer Screening Decision Support Tool in Primary Care

As part of usual care, a CRC screening electronic decision support tool developed by Mass General Brigham has been integrated into Epic. This decision support tool is part of routine clinical care and is sent electronically to patients aged 45-75 who receive the Annual Visit Primary Care Screening Bundled Questionnaire in advance of their annual visit. Patients complete the tool on Patient Gateway prior to the visit or via an iPad at the visit. The decision support tool guides patients through the CRC screening options (e.g., FIT, colonoscopy, Cologuard) to help them select their preferred screening method. As part of routine care, the patient will be prompted to complete the tool as part of the bundled questionnaire, and the results will be available in the Epic encounter in the Screenings tab with the other screening bundle responses. The primary care clinician can then discuss the options and/or screening preference with the patient. Depending on what the patient and clinician decide, a CRC screening test may be ordered for the patient. As a secondary outcome, a random sample of 1000 patients will be surveyed to understand their involvement in the decision making process and 300 providers will be surveyed to understand how the decision tool impacted the conversation with the patient. The IRB to conduct surveys of patients and providers was approved by the Mass General Brigham IRB (Protocol # 2024P002568).

Inclusion criteria

Adults aged 45-75 overdue for CRC screening at average risk of CRC have an annual visit scheduled with participating practices

Exclusion criteria

• high risk of CRC