HCP faculty Thomas D. Sequist, MD, MPH, Alan M. Zaslavsky, PhD, John Z. Ayanian, MD, MPP and colleagues recently published a large randomized trial of reminders for patients who were overdue for colorectal cancer screening. This study found that mailed reminders to patients were effective in raising screening rates, and electronic reminders to physicians tended to increase screening rates for patients who had at least 3 primary-care visits over the 15-month study period.  With funding from the National Cancer Institute, the researchers evaluated the care of 21,860 patients who were ages 50 to 80 and 110 primary care physicians at 11 Harvard Vanguard health centers in the greater Boston area.  This study demonstrates the value of using electronic health records to identify patients who are overdue for cancer screening services and engaging them directly in their care.

The study was published in the February 23 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine (click here for article). The research findings were reported in Business Week, US News & World Report, the Boston Globe, and the Harvard Medical School Focus.