Project to improve the follow-up rate for patients with abnormal oral mucosal screenings at a regional hospital

Abstract

The Bureau of Health Promotion provides oral mucosal screening services for those at high-risk of oral cancer in order to detect and treat early-stage oral cancer. However, the low rate of follow up for abnormal cases been associated with a rising mortality rate. This project seeks to improve the follow-up rate of patients with abnormal oral mucosal diagnoses at our hospital. We analyzed the current data and found that reasons for poor follow up included: patients' lack of knowledge, inconvenience in accessing the hospital, unwillingness to pay additional fees, and inadequate health education from healthcare providers. Therefore, we proposed several action measures that were developed between June and October 2012. These measures included: designating healthcare staff for oral mucosal screening, improving procedures in oral mucosal screening, tracking and referral of abnormal cases, encouraging medical staff to provide more health education in clinical sessions, and increasing distribution of health-education materials. After implementation, the follow-up rate for abnormal oral mucosal cases in our hospital increased from 64.2% to 95.3%. This project significantly improved the follow-up rate for abnormal oral mucosal cases as part of our overall goal of the early detection and treatment of oral cancer.