Updating Patient Reminder and Contact Processes to Improve Breast Cancer Screening Adherence

Breast cancer ranks second in the leading cause of death in women. The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends women between the ages of 50 and 74, receive a mammogram every two years, yet the number of women completing a mammogram remains low. Designed to address this issue, a project to update patient reminder and contact processes was com-pleted in an Air Force Family Medicine Clinic. The project focused on female mammogram-eligible patients enrolled to a clinic provider, with the goal to increase the number of women scheduling breast cancer screening by adding an automated call. The Iowa Model, guided this project through the steps of inquiry to implementation and evaluation. The clinic had 112 enrolled patients who were mammogram eligible and without a documented mammogram in their health record. A collaboration between the clinic staff, the diagnostic imaging department, and medical management nurse resulted in the use of evidence-based information to add a reminder call to the existing reminder letter. Calls were made at the following intervals: 30 days before, seven days before and 15 days after the patient was due for a mammogram. Each patient received a reminder letter 60 days prior to their mammogram due date; letters resulted in two of 112 patients who responded to make appointments (1.7%). Adding automated reminder call increased mammogram scheduling to 40 % (45 of 112 women).Conclusion: Patients had a higher response to the automated call. Implications: patient outreach for preventive screening, improved patient outcomes, and prioritizing population health.A five-year embargo was granted for this item