Championing Equity and Excellence in Colorectal Cancer Screening: A PDSA-Driven CME Cohort for Family Physicians

Program Overview

The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) is launching a Performance Improvement CME (PI CME) cohort program to improve colorectal cancer screening (CRCS) completion in primary care by addressing guideline knowledge gaps, workflow barriers, and disparities in care delivery.

Through live webinars, an interactive online course, and practice-based quality improvement activities, participating family physicians from up to 25 practices—prioritized in regions with low screening rates—will implement evidence-based, team-based strategies to increase screening adherence and timely follow‑up.

Cohort participants will not be compensated for their involvement; however, a $1000 administrative stipend will be paid to the participant’s practice to offset the value of their time spent in the program.

Please Note: PI CME earned participating in this activity cannot be counted toward ABFM requirements.

Webinars

1-hour webinars will take place every three weeks, Thursday noon Central.

Why Participate?

• Earn up to 30.5 CME credits—including 20 PI CME credits
• Improve real‑world colorectal cancer screening completion rates.
• Move beyond ordering tests to addressing follow‑up gaps, missed results, and workflow barriers that prevent patients from completing screening.
• Get hands‑on support using a proven PDSA quality‑improvement model.
• Assess your current practice, implement evidence‑based interventions, analyze outcomes, and refine your approach with guidance from expert faculty and peers.
• Strengthen team‑based workflows and reduce practice inefficiencies.
• Clarify staff roles, improve tracking and follow‑up processes, and build systems that support timely screening and patient navigation.
• Gain clarity on evolving CRC screening guidelines and test options.
• Learn how to apply AAFP and USPSTF recommendations, navigate differing guidelines, and confidently discuss colonoscopy and stool‑based screening options with patients.
• Advance equitable screening and address disparities in care.
• Implement strategies to improve screening rates among populations with historically lower uptake, helping close gaps in colorectal cancer outcomes.
• Access practical, ready‑to‑use tools for your practice.
• Receive clinical decision aids, patient education materials, workflow checklists, and digital resources you can use immediately.
• Learn alongside a small, focused cohort of peers.
• Collaborate with physicians from up to 25 practices facing similar challenges, with opportunities for peer discussion and shared learning.
• Demonstrate measurable improvements in patient outcomes.
• Document changes in practice performance and screening completion rates—linking CME participation directly to better patient care.

Eligibility Requirements

• 25 practicing family physicians will be invited to participate in the program.
• Commit to full participation for the duration of the program (June 2026 – December 2026). Participants are expected to remain engaged throughout the full project period, including baseline assessment, education, intervention implementation, reassessment, and reflection.
• Be willing to participate in a Performance Improvement (PI CME) project. This includes completing self‑assessments, collecting and submitting de‑identified patient data, developing an action plan, and reassessing practice performance.
• Be able to attend required live webinar sessions.
• Practice in a setting where guideline‑based care improvements can be implemented. Applicants should work in a practice with sufficient patient volume and operational flexibility to implement workflow or care process changes.
• Agree to submit de‑identified clinical data for quality improvement purposes. Data submission is required for benchmarking, performance measurement, and evaluation of practice change; no identifiable patient information will be collected.
• Participants should be open to involving other members of the care team (e.g., nurses, MAs, care coordinators) in workflow changes and improvement strategies.
• Physicians practicing in high‑need or high‑risk regions are strongly encouraged to apply.

Review & Selection

Applications will be reviewed, and participants will be selected by an internal working team. The awardees will be notified via e-mail by May 31, 2026.

Contact Information

Applications will be acknowledged via email. If you have any questions, please contact Zachary Porting at ZPorting@aafp.org or 800.274.2237 ext. 6009.

The Program is funded by an unrestricted grant from Exact Sciences Corporation.

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