A computerized reminder system used in community-based primary care doctors’ offices increased colorectal cancer screening rates by an average of 9 percent, according to a new study from the U-M Health System (UMHS).
The reminder system, called ClinfoTracker, was developed by family medicine doctors at UMHS to help track and manage primary care. In the current study, published in the September issue of Medical Care, ClinfoTracker was integrated into 12 practices participating in the statewide Great Lakes Research into Practice Network. The system printed reminders for patients who met guidelines for colorectal cancer screening, based on age and history of prior screening.
Researchers found that average screening rates at the beginning of the study were 41.7 percent. After nine months, that had jumped to 66.5 percent.
“We felt there was a need to develop a reminder and tracking system that could be generalized in very distinct, diverse practices. We found the ClinfoTracker system could fit relatively easily into routine patient care flow and was easy to implement into a practice,” says study author Dr. Donald Nease, associate professor of family medicine at the Medical School and co-creator of ClinfoTracker.
ClinfoTracker was developed to help doctors track patients’ clinical problems and preventive care. The software also assists with diabetes testing, cancer screenings and other routine tests.
Traditionally, doctors have used paper flow sheets.
“That works on the one hand at the individual patient level — if you keep up with it. But you don’t have the ability with that kind of system to go any further,” Nease says.
A computerized system allows doctors to mark whether a test was completed, ordered, discussed with the patient or refused by the patient. For incomplete tests, the system can generate a reminder, a call list or mailing list for the doctor or office staff.
“It keeps the issue active with that patient,” Nease says.
The ClinfoTracker software is used commercially under the name Cielo Clinic at all five UMHS family medicine clinics and at several other community practices and hospitals in Michigan.
Additional study authors were Dr. Mack Ruffin IV, professor of family medicine; Dr. Michael Klinkman, associate professor of family medicine and psychiatry; Dr. Masahito Jimbo, assistant professor of family medicine; Thomas Braun, assistant professor of biostatistics; and Jennifer Underwood, a student in the School of Social Work.
