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Getting screened for lung cancer can save lives, but many people who qualify for screening never receive it. A LUNGevity-supported study presented at the 2026 World Conference on Lung Cancer in Seoul, South Korea, looked at a practical way to close that gap within Baptist Health South Florida, a large health system serving a diverse community in the Miami area. Researchers reviewed low-dose CT scan orders across 17 primary care sites and tested ways to reach both clinicians and patients, including a patient portal message that helped people check whether they might be eligible for screening and connect with a primary care provider.
Key findings included:
- Provider-facing tools (based on electronic health records) may be insufficient to significantly overcome challenges in lung cancer screening, and complementary approaches need to be considered.
- The patient-facing portal message generated 12,183 clicks from November 2025 through January 2026.
- Among 871 patients who completed the eligibility screener, approximately 59 were identified as screening eligible, and about 21 took immediate action to connect with a primary care provider for lung cancer screening.
“This work shows why lung cancer screening needs both system-level support and patient-centered outreach,” said Upal Basu Roy, PhD, MPH, Executive Director of LUNGevity Research. “Digital tools can help identify people who may be eligible, but health systems also need patient engagement, navigation, and follow-through to turn eligibility into completed screening.”
Takeaway and next steps: The findings suggest that multipronged electronic health record tools which face patients and providers may be an effective way to close lung cancer screening gaps. The next phase is to strengthen provider adoption, refine outreach to patients and PCPs, evaluate impact prospectively, and develop a coordinated model that can help more eligible patients move from awareness to screening.
Want to learn more about how you can improve lung cancer screening in your community? Email Upal Basu Roy, PhD, MPH, LUNGevity’s Executive Director of Research at [email protected].