title: Use of a clinician reminder system for screening mammography in a public health clinic.
abstract: Physician reminder systems have been used to increase the appropriate use of clinical preventive services. These systems, though, have been typically tested in resident clinics. We conducted this study, using a time-series design, to determine if a manual clinician reminder system could increase the use of screening mammography in an urban public health clinic. In the one-year baseline period, 47% of women who were due for a mammogram received the procedure; the corresponding percentage in the one-year intervention period was 72% (P < .0000001). The improvement reflected a large increase in appropriate ordering behavior by primary care providers rather than an increase in patient adherence. This study demonstrates that a noncomputerized reminder system can greatly improve the delivery of screening mammography in a public health clinic setting.
authors.affiliation: Office of Clinical Preventive Medicine, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento 94234-7320.
authors.forename: N D
authors.initials: ND
authors.lastname: Kohatsu
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Cramer
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bohnstedt
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000517:prevention & control; D003151:Community Health Centers; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008327:Mammography / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008875:Middle Aged; D011634:Public Health; D017010:Reminder Systems; D012495:San Francisco