Text message outreach can help increase mammogram completion rates

Text messaging women after initial outreach for breast cancer screening increases mammogram completion rates, according to a study published online May 6 in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Shivan J. Mehta, M.D., from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and colleagues conducted two concurrent trials involving women aged 40 to 74 years with at least one primary care visit in the past two years. In trial A, women were randomly assigned to receive a signed bulk order for a mammogram or no order; patients were concurrently assigned to receive or not receive text message reminders.

In trial B, women were randomly assigned to receive a message signed by their primary care clinician (clinician endorsement) or from the organization (standard messaging) and were concurrently assigned to receive or not receive text message reminders.

A total of 24,632 women were included in the trials. The researchers found that at three months, there was a significant increase in the percent of patients completing a mammogram in the bulk order arm (15.4 versus 12.7 percent) in trial A. There was also a significant increase in mammogram completion in the text messaging arm (15.1 versus 13.0 percent).

At three months in trial B, mammogram completion was not significantly different in the clinician endorsement versus standard messaging arm (12.5 and 11.4 percent, respectively). A significant difference was seen in the text-messaging arm versus no text-messaging arm (13.2 versus 10.7 percent).

"Large-scale campaigns can be enhanced using new insights from behavioral science and information technology," the authors write.

One author disclosed financial ties to Guardant Health.

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