This Simple Test Is FIT to Save a Life
- Reaching out to patients
- Emphasizing the value of taking the colorectal screening test
- Identifying at-risk patients whenever they come into the office
What can your team do to be proactive about screening patients for cancer or other diseases?
At-home tests can save lives through early detection but patients need to comply. An internal medicine unit in Union City, California, had low return rates for their Fecal-Immunochemical test (FIT) kits. Their solution was to reach out to patients by phone, email, and by using bright fluorescent notes in the FIT kits that read: “This test detects early signs of COLON CANCER.” The outreach volume was high but it worked as the success rate of return on colorectal screenings jumped from 12.6 percent to 59.4 percent in 6 months.
Quality care won’t do a lot of good if the patient doesn’t know—and they might need some prodding. Get the word out, especially for tests like colorectal screenings.
Encouraging patients to use their take-home cancer screening kit is important for early detection.
jump in percentage points for taking colorectal screening tests