Keywords

cancer screening, patient care management, patient navigation, telephone counseling

Authors

1. Robinson, Christina M. MS
2. Beach, Michael L. MD, PhD
3. Greene, Mary Ann MS
4. Cassells, Andrea MPH
5. Tobin, Jonathan N. PhD
6. Dietrich, Allen J. MD

Abstract

We describe the staff time required by the prevention care manager-tailored telephone support intervention, which significantly increased breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer-screening rates among female patients of Community Health Centers in New York City. For a sample of 38 women whose intervention was timed, prevention care managers spent an average of 99 minutes per woman on the phone and on related follow-up tasks over 18 months, or 248 minutes for each additional cancer-screening test obtained. Potential modifications to decrease the time required include automation of common tasks and the use of administrative data to further tailor outreach calls.