Web tool pumps up breast screening rates

A new web-based automated mail and phone system that helps medical secretaries remind women to schedule a mammogram could boost breast cancer screening rates, according to Mayo Clinic researchers.

Investigators enrolled 6665 women and randomized 3326 of them to get mailings and sometimes a phone call reminding them to schedule a mammogram. The other 3339 women were assigned to a control group that did not receive such reminders. The investigators found that more than 64% of the reminded group had their yearly mammogram, compared with 55.3% in the control group (Arch Intern Med 2007;167:606-611).