The VA-PALS program was a multidisciplinary collaboration between clinicians and computer scientists within and outside the VA who shared a mission to increase access to high quality lung screening programs that could save the lives of Veterans at risk for lung cancer. The program was established in 2017 through a public-private partnership that was facilitated by the Secretary’s Center for Strategic Partnership .
The lead partner for VA-PALS was the International Early Lung Cancer Action Program ( I-ELCAP ). I-ELCAP was the first group to establish evidence-based lung screening protocols and since the 1990’s has published nearly 300 peer-reviewed manuscripts that inform current best practices for LCS around the world. One of the resources developed in collaboration was the VAPALS-ELCAP lung cancer screening management system which is currently running at the Phoenix VA Medical Center. Funding for the VA-PALS program
As of 2023, more than 20,000 unique Veterans have been screened for lung cancer at VA-PALS sites.