From July 2018, the National Cancer Screening Register assumed responsibility for all program correspondence.
The Register has been sending correspondence in priority order for women who have not undertaken the expected follow-up of an abnormal result. During November and December 2018, the Register commenced sending reminders to women who are overdue for their next routine Cervical Screening Test.
This correspondence is being sent using a staged approach, prioritising letters to women who are most overdue.
From early January 2019, the volume of these letters will increase until early-February 2019 to address a backlog, after which time normal mail distribution volumes will resume.
Impact on healthcare providers
Some healthcare providers may experience an increase in patient enquiries and requests for cervical screening tests during this period.
While it is recommended that asymptomatic women aged 25-74 years undergoing routine screening have their first HPV-based screening test two years after their last Pap test, the risk from delaying their test for a few months is extremely low.
The National Cancer Screening Register supports the Program by:
- Inviting eligible people to participate in cervical screening.
- Reminding participants when they are due for cervical screening.
- Providing participants’ cervical screening histories to healthcare providers and laboratories to assist patient clinical management and the reporting of current test results, respectively.
- Providing a ‘safety net’ back-up for participants who require, but have not attended for further testing when due, by prompting women and their healthcare providers of the need for the follow-up testing.
Learn more via HealthPathways:
For a list of all localised pathways see:
Mid and North Coast Localised Pathways
Username: manchealth
Password: conn3ct3d
For further information on HealthPathways, please contact [email protected] or [email protected].