Self-referral for colon, breast cancer screening launches through MyHealthNL app
Announcement part of plans to make screening more effective, NLHS CEO says
Health officials in Newfoundland and Labrador have announced residents can now self-refer for colon and breast cancer screening through the province's MyHealthNL app.
Women aged 40 to 74 can now self-refer for breast cancer screening, while people aged 50-74 can now self-refer for colon cancer screening.
"Residents will have another way to easily access preventative care, and receive timely guidance and follow up information," Health Minister Krista Lynn Howell told reporters Wednesday.
"Right now, you have the opportunity to do that in the palm of your hand."
Dr. Pat Parfrey, head of Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services, called the announcement an important one for a province with among the lowest life expectancy in Canada — driven in part by cancer mortality rates.
"The highest rate of death from colon cancer in the world is here in this province. So the effectiveness of our screening is really, really important," Parfrey said.
Dr. Jerry McGrath, medical director for the provincial colon screening program, says colon cancer mortality rates are high in the province.
"In terms of comparing ourselves to the rest of Canada, the rates here are 50 per cent higher and the mortality rate is almost 100 per cent higher," he said.
McGrath says it means Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are almost twice as likely to die from colon cancer compared to the rest of Canadians.
Self-referral through the app will prompt an appointment letter or follow-up phone call by a health professional. Once screening is complete, users can view their results in the app or through a letter in the mail.
Howell says the app, which can also show things like lab results, imaging reports, resource links and more, has seen strong uptake.
More than 131,000 people are registered through the MyHealthNL platform, she says, including more than 40,000 through the app.
Parfrey says Wednesday's announcement is a first step in improving cancer screening in Newfoundland and Labrador. Future steps include giving people who need continued screening the opportunity to book their own appointment times through an electronic system, he said.
However, he says the screening program's success entirely depends on people — no matter what their risk factor — availing of it.
"Part of the cancer program's major endeavour is to make these screening programs more effective," he said.
"The whole thing behind this app is to help people get screened."
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With files from Mark Quinn