Improving Colorectal Cancer Screening: A Partnership Between Primary Care Practices and the American Cancer Society

Background. The American Cancer Society (ACS) is interested in facilitating colorectal cancer screening (CRCS) in primary care. Methods. Similar clinics were assigned randomly to 1 of 3 CRCS arms: (1) usual care, (2) exam-room posters designed by the ACS; and (3) posters plus patient reminder calls from an ACS volunteer. Results. Compared to patients due for screening in Arm 1, the odds ratio for getting CRCS in Arm 2 was 1.04 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.81-1.34), P value not significant; in Arm 3, it was 1.49 (95% CI, 1.16-1.90), P value .001. Conclusions. Exam-room posters plus patient reminder calls from the ACS can increase CRCS in primary care.