Skip to main content
NCBI home page
CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association Journal logoLink to CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association Journal
. 1991 Oct 1;145(7):807–814.

Use of reminders for preventive procedures in family medicine.

W W Rosser 1, I McDowell 1, C Newell 1
PMCID: PMC1335900  PMID: 1913409

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effectiveness of three computerized reminder systems in the delivery of five preventive procedures in family practice. DESIGN: Prospective, randomized, controlled study. SETTING: Ottawa Civic Hospital Family Medicine Centre. PARTICIPANTS: Of 8502 patients 15 years of age or more who were not in a hospital or institution 5883 were randomly assigned, by family, to a control group, a physician reminder group (passive) or a telephone or letter reminder group (active). The remaining 2619 patients were not included in the randomized portion of the study but were monitored. INTERVENTION: During 1 year the patients in the active reminder groups received a telephone call or letter reminding them of any overdue preventive procedures; for those in the passive reminder group the physician was reminded at an office visit to provide any overdue service. OUTCOME MEASURE: Rates of completion of the preventive procedures required. MAIN RESULTS: All three reminder systems significantly improved the delivery of preventive services (p less than 0.001). The procedure completion rates were 42.0% in the letter reminder group, 42.0% in the telephone reminder group, 33.7% in the physician reminder group and 14.1% in the randomized control group. The use of a letter was more cost-effective than the telephone system, but the physician reminder system was the most cost-effective. CONCLUSION: Computerized reminder systems do improve the delivery of preventive services in family practice.

Full text

PDF
807

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Anderson C., Martin H. Effectiveness of patient recall system on immunization rates for influenza. J Fam Pract. 1979 Oct;9(4):727–730. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Battista R. N., Palmer C. S., Marchand B. M., Spitzer W. O. Patterns of preventive practice in New Brunswick. Can Med Assoc J. 1985 May 1;132(9):1013–1015. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Brownbridge G., Evans A., Fitter M., Platts M. An interactive computerized protocol for the management of hypertension: effects on the general practitioner's clinical behaviour. J R Coll Gen Pract. 1986 May;36(286):198–202. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Chu F. Z., Day R. G. Smoking recognition by family physicians. J Fam Pract. 1981 Apr;12(4):657–660. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Elmslie T., Rosser W. W. Computerization of family practice. CMAJ. 1986 Feb 1;134(3):221–224. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Evans C. E., Haynes R. B., Birkett N. J., Gilbert J. R., Taylor D. W., Sackett D. L., Johnston M. E., Hewson S. A. Does a mailed continuing education program improve physician performance? Results of a randomized trial in antihypertensive care. JAMA. 1986 Jan 24;255(4):501–504. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Fidler H. K., Boyes D. A., Worth A. J. Cervical cancer detection in British Columbia. A progress report. J Obstet Gynaecol Br Commonw. 1968 Apr;75(4):392–404. doi: 10.1111/j.1471-0528.1968.tb00136.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Fleming D. M., Lawrence M. S. An evaluation of recorded information about preventive measures in 38 practices. J R Coll Gen Pract. 1981 Oct;31(231):615–620. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Frame P. S. Periodic health screening in a rural private practice. J Fam Pract. 1979 Jul;9(1):57–64. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Gerace T. M., Sangster J. F. Influenza vaccination: a comparison of two outreach strategies. Fam Med. 1988 Jan-Feb;20(1):43–45. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Hodes C. Cervical screening--refusal in general practice. J R Coll Gen Pract. 1972 Mar;22(116):172–175. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Kleinman J. C., Kopstein A. Who is being screened for cervical cancer? Am J Public Health. 1981 Jan;71(1):73–76. doi: 10.2105/ajph.71.1.73. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. McDonald C. J., Hui S. L., Smith D. M., Tierney W. M., Cohen S. J., Weinberger M., McCabe G. P. Reminders to physicians from an introspective computer medical record. A two-year randomized trial. Ann Intern Med. 1984 Jan;100(1):130–138. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-100-1-130. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. McDowell I., Newell C., Rosser W. A randomized trial of computerized reminders for blood pressure screening in primary care. Med Care. 1989 Mar;27(3):297–305. doi: 10.1097/00005650-198903000-00008. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. McDowell I., Newell C., Rosser W. Comparison of three methods of recalling patients for influenza vaccination. CMAJ. 1986 Nov 1;135(9):991–997. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Spenser J. T. A survey of cervical smear screening in general practice. Practitioner. 1967 Feb;198(184):274–280. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Standing P., Mercer S. Quinquennial cervical smears: every woman's right and every general practitioner's responsibility. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1984 Oct 6;289(6449):883–886. doi: 10.1136/bmj.289.6449.883. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Wechsler H., Levine S., Idelson R. K., Rohman M., Taylor J. O. The physician's role in health promotion--a survey of primary-care practitioners. N Engl J Med. 1983 Jan 13;308(2):97–100. doi: 10.1056/NEJM198301133080211. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from CMAJ: Canadian Medical Association Journal are provided here courtesy of Canadian Medical Association

RESOURCES