Web-based system may improve mammography rates

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A Web-based reminder system can significantly increase the rates of mammography screening among eligible women.

Screening mammography is currently recommended every 1 to 2 years for women age 40 or older. However, recent reports suggest that a large proportion of eligible women, perhaps even the majority, do not undergo screening.

To address this, Dr. Rajeev Chaudry and colleagues, from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, developed a Web-based system, known as the PREventive Care REminder System (PRECARES), to help their secretaries arrange breast cancer screening for patients in their group practice.

Each month, the system provides a list of women who are due for mammographic screening within the next 3 months, Chaudry and associates report in the Archives of Internal Medicine. The secretary then sends a letter to all patients who have not scheduled screening yet, asking them to call for an appointment. If the patient does not call, a second letter is sent and if the patient still does not respond, a phone call is made.

Chaudry's team compared mammographic screening rates for 3,326 women who were randomly assigned to PRECARES and for 3,339 who were not involved in a regular reminder system. In a subanalysis, the PRECARES reminders sent via e-mail were compared with those sent via standard mail.

The mammography rate in the PRECARES group was 64.3 percent, significantly higher than the 55.3 percent rate seen in the group not part of a reminder system. In the subanalysis, no significant difference was seen in rates for e-mail versus standard mail delivery of PRECARES.

"The breast cancer screening rate improved significantly with the practice redesign of having appointment secretaries proactively manage breast cancer screening needs," the authors conclude. "Many preventive screening services can be delivered without involvement of physicians or physician visits, and office staff can manage the preventive service needs of patients, which should also decrease the costs incurred by practices, patients, and insurers."

SOURCE: Archives of Internal Medicine, March 26, 2007.