On 23 September 2026, Europacolon Portugal hosted the ONCOSCREEN Portugal webinar, “From innovation to practice: new pathways to improve colorectal cancer screening in Portugal”.
The session brought together expertise in national cancer policy, public health, coordination of population-based screening programmes, gastroenterology, medical oncology, primary care and family medicine, and clinical research and innovation, alongside patient and civil society perspectives. This breadth of experience supported a discussion on how new screening solutions could be assessed, integrated and sustainably adopted within the Portuguese health system.
The discussion connected policy and screening programme organisation with clinical practice and people’s experience of accessing care. Topics included barriers to participation, health literacy, the evidence needed to assess new approaches, capacity for diagnostic follow-up, and coordination between primary and specialist care. Participants also considered funding, quality standards and equitable access, with a central question: what needs to happen for innovation to become accessible in everyday care? Drawing on the country profile developed for Portugal and an overview of ONCOSCREEN’s solutions, the session examined how these approaches could fit existing screening services and what adaptations might be needed.
For ONCOSCREEN, the session explored the clinical, organisational and policy conditions needed to support the potential adoption of its solutions. The discussion is expected to inform the priorities and recommendations that will contribute to the project’s adoption roadmap, a plan to guide how new screening solutions could be put into practice. This contribution will help ground the roadmap in the realities of the national health system and the needs of the people screening is intended to serve.