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5 – Support the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program in Victoria
FIVE
An important component of the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program (NBCSP) is the follow-up of participants with a positive Faecal Occult Blood Test (FOBT) result. In 2012, VCS Foundation was contracted by the Victorian Department of Health to operate the Participant Follow Up Function (PFUF) to support Victorian bowel screening participants. The PFUF team have consistently met the targets and expectations of the Department and the contract was recently extended to 2023.
The PFUF team assists with the followup of participants who have chosen to participate in the NBCSP and who have had a positive Faecal Occult Blood Test result. The PFUF team call participants who, according to the National Cancer Screening Register (NCSR), have either not followed up their positive FOBT result with their general practitioner/ HCP or have not acted on their referral and progressed to having a colonoscopy. The PFUF team routinely contact the participant, their nominated general practitioners/HCP, their nominated personal representative and/or their treating specialist. The purpose of the contact is to encourage follow-up of the result and progression through the screening pathway, and to accurately update the NCSR PFUF Portal with the current status of the participant. Since the commencement of the program, the PFUF team have followed up 73,354 participants, including 14,651 participants in the 2020/21 financial year.
