US News: Most Folks Who Need Colon Cancer Screening Aren’t Reminded by Doctors
From US News:
“There’s often not much time, and clinicians have a lot to cover. Patients come in with things they want to discuss,” said Dr. Shivan Mehta, a gastroenterologist and associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania.
But Mehta, who studies health care delivery, also pointed to the good news.
“We do know a lot about ways around these barriers,” he said.
Essentially, clinics and health care systems have to step in, so screening reminders are not solely the job of individual doctors.
That, Mehta said, can be done with messages sent over electronic patient portals, or by texting — which, he noted, may be a better way to reach patients without reliable internet access.
The old-fashioned letter should not discounted, either, according to Mehta, who said that some people consider them more “official.”
“Different patients respond to different things,” he said.