A mailed educational reminder asking patients to return their fecal occult blood test cards for a colorectal cancer screening is more cost-effective than other patient-directed interventions, such as telephone calls and letters from physicians, according to a BMC report.
In a study of patients in the VA system, the mailed educational reminder increased colorectal cancer screening rates by 16.2 percent.
The total cost of the intervention was $962, or $2.49 per patient, and the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was $15 per additional person screened.
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