ANN ARBOR, MI – A computerized reminder system used in community-based primary care physicians' offices has increased colorectal cancer screening rates by an average of 9 percent, according to a new study from the University of Michigan Health System.

The reminder system, called ClinfoTracker, was developed by family medicine physicians at UMHS to help track and manage primary care. The system encourages doctors and patients to follow guidelines for managing chronic diseases or for prevention screenings.

In the current study, published in the September issue of [italics] Medical Care [end italics], ClinfoTracker was integrated into 12 primary care practices participating in the Great Lakes Research into Practice Network, a statewide practice-based research network in Michigan.

The system printed reminders for patients who met general guidelines for colorectal cancer screening, based on age and history of prior screening. The reminders went to physicians only for eight of the practices and to physicians and patients for four of the practices.

The study followed the practices for nine months. The researchers found that average screening rates at the beginning of the study were 41.7 percent. By the end of the study, that had grown to 66.5 percent.

"We felt there was a need to develop a reminder and tracking system that could be generalized in very distinct, diverse practices," said study author Donald Nease, MD, associate professor of family medicine at the U-M Medical School and co-creator of ClinfoTracker. "We found the ClinfoTracker system could fit relatively easily into routine patient care flow and was easy to implement into a practice."