An experience of qualified preventive screening: shiraz smart screening software

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Informatics
• Preventive Medicine

Background:

• Computerized screening software offers a cost-effective approach to managing non-communicable chronic diseases.
• Shiraz Smart Screening Software (SSSS) was developed for efficient, multi-disease screening with notification features.
• The study evaluates the impact of SSSS on the quality of preventive screening.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the effectiveness of Shiraz Smart Screening Software (SSSS) in improving preventive screening quality.
• To compare software-assisted screening with manual methods regarding coverage, attendance, and test appropriateness.
• To determine the impact of SSSS on the number of screening tests requested.

Main Methods:

• A quasi-experimental study design was employed to evaluate software-assisted screening.
• Preventive screening and annual health examinations were conducted on 261 school staff using SSSS.
• Coverage, irregular attendance, and inappropriateness proportions were measured and compared to manual screening.

Main Results:

• Software-assisted screening achieved 79% coverage, a substantial increase from the 27% coverage with manual screening (which had 94% irregular attendance).
• SSSS corrected high rates of inappropriate test requests for various screenings, including fasting plasma glucose and lipid profiles.
• The total number of requested screening tests decreased from 366 (manual) to 334 (software-assisted).

Conclusions:

• Shiraz Smart Screening Software (SSSS) is an innovative tool that enhances the quality of preventive screening plans.
• SSSS leads to increased screening coverage and a reduction in inappropriate test requests.
• The software also contributes to a decrease in the overall number of tests required for preventive screening.