INTRODUCTION: Cervical cancer remains highly treatable when detected early, yet nearly 60% of women diagnosed were not appropriately screened prior to diagnosis. Uninsured or underinsured patients, particularly those lacking legal status or experiencing coverage lapses, face significant barriers to both screening and follow-up care. This study evaluated the effect of a structured protocol aimed at improving patient notification and follow-up after abnormal Pap smear results within an underserved clinical setting. METHODS: A retrospective chart review was conducted for 217 patients with abnormal Pap results, comparing outcomes between a pre-intervention cohort (July to December 2023) and a post-intervention cohort (July to December 2024). Statistical analyses included descriptive statistics, chi-squared tests for categorical variables, and t-tests for continuous variables, with significance set at P <.05. RESULTS: The study population had a mean age of 37.8 years and was demographically diverse (42.4% Hispanic/Latino, 20.7% Black). Post-intervention patients experienced significantly higher rates of result upload (98% versus 89.7%, P =.014), shorter time from lab report to patient notification (15.6 versus 38 days, P <.001), and faster clinic notification times (9.2 versus 21.5 days, P =.002). However, follow-up completion did not significantly differ across intervention groups. Patients served by LMC represented a more vulnerable population but showed comparable performance in result delivery to Quest. CONCLUSIONS/IMPLICATIONS: The implemented protocol significantly improved the timeliness of result communication, a critical step in reducing delays in cervical cancer care. These findings highlight the potential of low-cost interventions to strengthen care delivery in high-risk populations.
Méndez et al. (Thu,) studied this question.