For healthcare providers: Supporting patients in bowel screening

Improved access to patient screening information is vital for facilitating meaningful conversations to highlight the life-saving potential of early detection and address concerns about the screening process.

The NCSR’s digital channels enable healthcare providers to securely access and submit comprehensive screening information for the bowel screening program.

By incorporating these channels into your workflow, you're not just improving practice efficiency — you're contributing to a nationwide effort to reduce deaths from bowel cancer.

Information about a patient and their screening history held in the NCSR informs the correct screening pathway.

To help the NCSR provide a safety net for the screening programs, healthcare providers can update their patient’s details and submit clinical information via integrated clinical software or the Healthcare Provider Portal.

These channels are designed to make it easier to update your patient’s status and ensure they receive appropriate care and avoid unnecessary follow-up on positive results.

You can submit the following forms and reports for the bowel screening program:

• GP assessment report: To provide information about a patient with a positive FOBT result
• Adverse events report: For colonoscopists or other healthcare providers to report on an adverse outcome of a colonoscopy performed as follow up to a positive FOBT result. This form is only used where that information has not already been included in the Colonoscopy Report
• Colonoscopy report: Report colonoscopy result for a patient with a positive FOBT result
• Histopathology report: Report results of specimens collected during colonoscopy for a patient with a positive FOBT result

Healthcare providers can bulk order bowel screening kits and issue them directly to their eligible patients through the alternative access to kits model. This is in addition to the existing mail out model.

This alternative way of giving kits to eligible patients helps remove barriers that prevent some people from participating in the bowel program.

Patients are more likely to do the test when it has been discussed with a trusted health professional who can explain how to do the test and why it is important.

The National Bowel Cancer Screening Program offers a free, simple test for eligible Australians to reduce illness and death from bowel cancer.

Healthcare providers can order a bowel screening test kit to a patient’s address using integrated clinical software, the Healthcare Provider Portal, or by submitting a webform.

If your patient is:

• Aged 45 to 49: You can request their first free bowel cancer screening kit be mailed to them. They will then be sent a kit every 2 years
• Aged 50 to 74: And already participating in the bowel program, they will continue to receive a bowel screening test kit in the mail every 2 years. You can also request a replacement kit be sent to them if they didn’t receive their last kit or if it was damaged, misplaced, or expired

To order a bowel screening test kit to your patient's address, refer to the user guides below.

If your patient has their bowel screening kit but has misplaced or damaged the participant details form, you can request a replacement via:

• Integrated clinical software: Within a patient record in the NCSR Hub, navigate to the forms section and select Request a replacement participant details form and a form will be mailed to your participants address
• Healthcare Provider Portal: Search for your patient and within their bowel record, under the forms tab, select Request a replacement participant details form and a form will be mailed to your participant’s address
• Download a blank form from the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing website.
• Call us on 1800 627 701 to request a form be mailed to your patient

Learn how to access patient screening information, view and submit clinical forms, and request a bowel screening kit for eligible patients.