Mail and electronic reminders may increase colon cancer screening

February 23, 2009

Mailed reminders to patients appear to promote colon cancer screening, according to a report in the February 23 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. In addition, electronic reminders to physicians appear to increase screening among patients with more frequent primary care visits.

"Colorectal cancer is the secondary leading cause of cancer mortality [death] in the United States," according to background information in the article. "Screening programs involving fecal occult blood testing, flexible sigmoidoscopy and colonoscopy lower the incidence of colorectal cancer by removing precancerous adenomas, detect cancers at more curable early stages and reduce colorectal cancer mortality." Although national guidelines suggest that average-risk adults age 50 and older should be screened for colorectal cancer, only 60 percent report up-to-date testing.

Thomas D. Sequist, M.D., M.P.H., of Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates and Harvard Medical School, Boston, and colleagues studied screening rates and colorectal adenoma (tumor) detection for 21,860 patients (age 50 to 80) of 110 physicians from April 2006 to June 2007. Fifty-five physicians were randomly assigned to receive electronic reminders during office visits with patients overdue for screening. Additionally, 10,930 patients were randomly assigned to receive mailings containing an educational pamphlet, a fecal occult blood test kit and instructions for direct scheduling of flexible sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy. Screening rates and detection of colorectal adenomas (tumors) were noted 15 months after the start of the intervention.

Screening rates for patients who received mailings were higher than for those who did not (44 percent vs. 38.1 percent). The mailings were more effective among older patients—patients age 50 to 59 experienced a 3.7 percent increase, patients age 60 to 69 had a 7.3 percent increase and patients age 70 to 80 experienced a 10.1 percent increase in screening rates. While patients of physicians receiving electronic reminders had screening rates similar to patients of physicians who did not receive reminders (41.9 percent vs. 40.2 percent), electronic reminders tended to increase screening rates among patients with three or more primary care visits (59.5 percent vs. 52.7 percent).

"Detection of adenomas tended to increase with patient mailings (5.7 percent vs. 5.2 percent) and physician reminders (6 percent vs. 4.9 percent)," the authors write, but these increases were not statistically significant.

More info: Arch Intern Med. 2009;169[4]:364-371.

Source: JAMA and Archives Journals


Rank not rated yet
Relevant PhysicsForums posts
  • Is Everyday Technology Killing Us?
    createdFeb 08, 2012
  • Exercise and weight loss
    createdFeb 08, 2012
  • Why do we have head aches? Our brains can't feel anything.
    createdFeb 07, 2012
  • "The end of diseases" by David Agus, interview from Daily Show with Jon Stewart
    createdFeb 04, 2012
  • Oncolytic adenovirus
    createdFeb 04, 2012
  • Nutrition label stuffs and diets
    createdFeb 02, 2012
  • More from Physics Forums - Medical Sciences

More news stories

Cognitive impairment in older adults often unrecognized in the primary care setting

A new study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society reveals that brief cognitive screenings combined with offering further evaluation increased new diagnoses of cognitive impairment in older veterans two to ...

Medicine & Health / Diseases

created 1 hour ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Botox developer rues missing out on billions

Botox developer Alan Scott says he rues the day he handed over rights to the best-selling wrinkle-smoothing drug to a US company for just $4.5 million, saying he might have become a billionaire.

Medicine & Health / Medications

created 2 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Primary care program helps obese teen girls manage weight, improve body image and behavior

Teenage girls gained less weight, improved their body image, ate less fast food, and had more family meals after participating in a 6- month program that involved weekly peer meetings, consultations with primary care providers ...

Medicine & Health / Health

created 1 hour ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Young adults allowed to stay on parents' health insurance have improved access to care

Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine have found that laws permitting children to stay on their parents' health insurance through age 26 result in improved access to health care compared to states without those ...

Medicine & Health / Health

created 2 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Cancer rate 4 times higher in children with juvenile arthritis

New research reports that incident malignancy among children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is four times higher than in those without the disease. Findings now available in Arthritis & Rheumatism, a journal publis ...

Medicine & Health / Diseases

created 2 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0


Ordered planar polymers created for the first time

(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists under the direction of ETH Zurich have created a minor sensation in synthetic chemistry. They succeeded for the first time in producing regularly ordered planar polymers that form ...

New European rocket lifts off on maiden flight

A new lightweight rocket, Vega, lifted off from Europe's space base Monday carrying nine satellites on its inaugural flight, mission control said.

Hacker claims porn site users compromised

A hacker claims to have compromised the personal information of more than 350,000 users after breaking into a disused website operated by pornography provider Brazzers.

Chinese city seizes Apple iPads in name dispute

(AP) -- Authorities have seized Apple iPads from retailers in a city in northern China due to a dispute with a domestic company that says it owns the iPad name, an official said Monday. The Chinese company said it is asking ...

Microsoft India retail site down after 'cyber attack'

Microsoft India's retail website was down on Monday after reportedly being hacked by a Chinese group calling itself Evil Shadow Team.

Rapunzel, Leonardo and the physics of the ponytail

(PhysOrg.com) -- New research provides the first mathematical understanding of the shape of a ponytail and could have implications for the textile industry, computer animation and personal care products.