Cervical Cytology - General Points

The rationale is that you make a cervical smear entry the day that the smear is taken (see Cervical Cytology - Record a Smear Taken) - just click on Add-Cytology and click on OK. This records an acceptable QOF code of 6859 Ca cervix - screen done.

Later, when the result is through, you can List-Cytology, right click the 6859 Ca cervix - screen done, Edit, and update this entry with the laboratory result (see Cervical Cytology - Update Existing Smear Result). This way you can track smears, making sure all the results have come through.

If you prefer, you can just enter the result when it arrives in the Cytology-Add screen using an appropriate READ term (see Cervical Cytology - Add screen and Cervical Cytology - READ Codes for Smear Results).

Patients can be excluded from target figures by reason of hysterectomy etc - see Cervical Cytology - Exclude a patient from smear target figures.

To follow a cervical smear recall program, the three steps needed are:

1. (1) add all smear results.
2. (2) Set up ad-hoc searches that can be run every month (scheduled automatically in batches) in the Search & Reports module, creating different groups: those needing a first invitation letter, a 2nd, a 3rd, a 1st invitation letter because the smear was inadequate, a 2nd "inadequate smear" letter, a 3rd "inadequate smear" letter. There is adetailed how-to-run a smear recall system in Chapter 31 of the Training Guide and in the on-screen help of the Search module.
3. (3) Every month, send recall letters to the relevant groups of patients in the Patient Groups and Recalls module.

Other Pathology Tests - Cervical smears filed electronically from Mail Manager can be seen on the Other Pathology Tests Management Plan. Note that they do not also appear within Cervical Cytology List as well, and would have to be added manually to Cervical Cytology-Add in order for them to be part of a recall program.