Colorectal Cancer Screening in Primary Care

The implementation of screening programs for colorectal cancer by screening for fecal occult blood has proven effective in reducing the incidence and mortality from this type of neoplasms. However, to ensure the efficiency of the programs require population participation rates of at least 50%. Experiences in our country show that the population participation is far from this recommended minimum number. Interventions to promote preventive activities in primary care are well received by the population; in the case of colorectal cancer, direct recommendation of primary care professionals to carry out the screening is one of the factors with greatest impact on increasing population participation in such programs. Care overload, circuit design for screening without the direct intervention of primary care professionals and the multiplicity of tasks that they must face, are elements that influence the low recommendation for screening in the target population who consults for any other reason. The introduction of specific reminders in electronic medical record (in widespread use in primary care), as a tool to facilitate and encourage direct referral by physicians and nurse practitioners to perform colorectal cancer screening will mean an increase of at least 10% in participation of the target population, increasing the efficiency of screening programs. The introduction of this new software tool will have good acceptance and increase compliance with recommendations from health professionals.

Sex

All

Minimum age

50 Years

Maximum age

69 Years

Inclusion criteria:

* Patients:

  1. Men and women, aged between 50-69, with an average risk of developing CRC, involved to participate in the first round of a population-based CRC screening program (N=57.020)
  2. To be registered with a primary care physician (PCP) at one of the centers participating.
* Health care professionals: All the physicians and nurses working at every center voluntarily participating (N=280).

Exclusion criteria

* Patients: Refusal to participate.
* Health care professionals: Refusal to participate by the center where they work.

• DERIVEDGuiriguet-Capdevila C, Munoz-Ortiz L, Rivero-Franco I, Vela-Vallespin C, Vilarrubi-Estrella M, Torres-Salinas M, Grau-Cano J, Buron-Pust A, Hernandez-Rodriguez C, Fuentes-Pelaez A, Reina-Rodriguez D, De Leon-Gallo R, Mendez-Boo L, Toran-Monserrat P. Can an alert in primary care electronic medical records increase participation in a population-based screening programme for colorectal cancer? COLO-ALERT, a randomised clinical trial. BMC Cancer. 2014 Mar 31;14:232. doi: 10.1186/1471-2407-14-232. PMID 24685117