November 17, 2025- In an ideal world, all patients receiving healthcare would attend regular check-ups, take diagnostic tests when necessary, and follow up with clinician-recommended treatments.
“However, the reality is that many circumstances can disrupt the intended flow of care from providers to patients,” said Steven Denman, Director, Laboratory Business Development and Gaps in Care Programs at Cardinal Health.
These are known as “gaps in care” or discrepancies between recommended healthcare best practices and the level of actual care provided to the patient.
Gaps in care are pervasive across healthcare and can undermine both the quality and equity of medical services. Examples of gaps in care include missed healthcare services recommended by a provider – such as a cancer screening – or a delayed follow-up visit with a doctor. Additionally, many patients do not adhere to their prescribed treatments and skip or delay critical care for a variety of reasons, including language barriers, the inability to take time from work to see a doctor or transportation-related challenges. These factors can also lead to gaps in care.
“Amplifying these common gaps are obstacles that patients experience across the U.S. healthcare system – including rising treatment costs, increased comorbidities, condition progression, complexities from later-stage diagnosis, and reduced quality of life,” Denman said. Noncompliance also places a major strain on healthcare resources, which can cost systems an enormous amount of time and money, as they’re often treating issues that could have been identified sooner through early detection.
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