Personal Electronic Health Records in Improving Screening Rates for Colorectal Cancer

Study Description

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Brief Summary:

RATIONALE: Use of a web-based risk assessment tool may help improve screening rates for colorectal cancer.

PURPOSE: This randomized clinical trial is studying personal electronic health records to see how well they work in improving screening rates for colorectal cancer.

Condition or disease	Intervention/treatment	Phase
Colorectal Cancer	Other: educational intervention; Other: internet-based intervention; Procedure: evaluation of cancer risk factors; Procedure: fecal occult blood test; Procedure: screening colonoscopy	Not Applicable

Detailed Description:

OBJECTIVES:

• To assess whether screening rates for colorectal cancer (CRC) can be substantially increased among adults in primary care through the use of a personal electronic health record that provides a link to a validated web-based tool to estimate an individual's risk of CRC and electronic scheduling of CRC screening exams.

OUTLINE: This is a multicenter study. Participants are stratified according to participating Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates (HVMA) center. Participants are randomized to 1 of 2 arms.

• Intervention arm: Participants receive an electronic message within their MyHealth account on behalf of their primary care physician providing a link to a web-based tool to allow them to assess their personal risk of colorectal cancer (CRC). The tool provides an estimate of an individual's personal risk of developing different types of cancer over the next 10 years relative to others of the same age and sex. The tool also recommends steps that individuals can take to reduce their risk. The tool includes questions about family history; prior screening tests; dietary habits (red meat, fruits, and vegetables); weight and height; and use of folate, aspirin, estrogen therapy, alcohol, and tobacco. In addition, the electronic message provides information regarding options for CRC screening, emphasizing colonoscopy every 10 years per the current HVMA guidelines, followed by the secondary recommendation of annual fecal occult blood testing. Detailed information is provided in the form of a link to online educational materials. Participants may request either colonoscopy or fecal occult blood testing by responding to the electronic message and indicating their preference. Participants who request colonoscopy are contacted by the gastroenterology department to proceed with CRC screening; participants who request fecal occult blood testing will receive a stool card test kit in the mail from their primary care physician.
• Control arm: Participants receive no intervention.

Study Design

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Study Type :	Interventional (Clinical Trial)
Estimated Enrollment :	1000 participants
Allocation:	Randomized
Primary Purpose:	Screening
Official Title:	Use of a Personal Health Record to Improve Colorectal Cancer Screening
Study Start Date :	March 2005
Estimated Primary Completion Date :	September 2010

Arms and Interventions

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Outcome Measures

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Primary Outcome Measures :

1. Receipt of colorectal cancer screening exam (fecal occult blood test, flexible sigmoidoscopy, or colonoscopy) within 4 months following delivery of an electronic message within the personal health record

Secondary Outcome Measures :

1. Proportion of participants who access the web-based risk-assessment tool
2. Distribution of risk-status among participants who complete the web-based risk-assessment tool

Eligibility Criteria

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Ages Eligible for Study:	50 Years to 75 Years (Adult, Senior)
Sexes Eligible for Study:	All
Accepts Healthy Volunteers:	Yes

Criteria

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Overdue for colorectal cancer screening (identified using automated extracts from the electronic medical record), as defined by the following criteria:

  • No fecal occult blood test within the past 12 months
  • No flexible sigmoidoscopy within the past 5 years
  • No colonoscopy within the past 10 years
• Receiving primary care at a Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates (HVMA) center
• Registered to use the HVMA patient portal (MyHealth) AND has an active MyHealth account

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

• Not specified

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

• See Disease Characteristics

Contacts and Locations

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Locations

United States, Massachusetts
Harvard Medical School	Recruiting
Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02115
Contact: John Ayanian, MD, MPP 617-432-3455
Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates - Kenmore	Recruiting
Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02215
Contact: Thomas D. Sequist, MD, MPH 617-432-3447 tsequist@partners.org

Sponsors and Collaborators

Harvard University

National Cancer Institute (NCI)

Investigators

Study Chair:	John Ayanian, MD, MPP	Harvard Medical School

More Information

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Publications of Results:

Sequist TD, Zaslavsky AM, Colditz GA, Ayanian JZ. Electronic patient messages to promote colorectal cancer screening: a randomized controlled trial. Arch Intern Med. 2011 Apr 11;171(7):636-41. doi: 10.1001/archinternmed.2010.467. Epub 2010 Dec 13.

Responsible Party:	John Ayanian, Harvard Medical School
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:	NCT01032746 History of Changes
Other Study ID Numbers:	CDR0000661288; HMS-11960
First Posted:	December 15, 2009
Last Update Posted:	December 18, 2013
Last Verified:	June 2011

Keywords provided by National Cancer Institute (NCI):

colon cancer; rectal cancer

Additional relevant MeSH terms:

Colorectal Neoplasms; Intestinal Neoplasms; Gastrointestinal Neoplasms; Digestive System Neoplasms; Neoplasms by Site; Neoplasms	Digestive System Diseases; Gastrointestinal Diseases; Colonic Diseases; Intestinal Diseases; Rectal Diseases