New cervical cancer testing guidelines

The Health Resources and Services Administration recently announced new guidelines for cervical cancer testing for women aged 30–65.

The following new guidelines can help target efforts to improve care gap closure for cervical cancer screenings and can help women take an active role in their health with expanded screening options:

Patient-collected hrHPV testing is now an appropriate method for cervical cancer screening in women aged 30–65 years at average risk
Primary hrHPV testing every 5 years is now the preferred method or cytology and hrHPV testing (co-testing) every 5 years. If hrHPV testing is not available, continue screening with cytology alone every 3 years.

These updates align to current HEDIS® technical specifications noting that test results from self-collected samples processed by a laboratory or provider’s office may be used for reporting.