Evaluation of a Telephone Outreach Intervention on Colonoscopy Completion Rates for Patients With Rectal Bleeding.

Area of Science:

• Primary Care Medicine
• Gastroenterology
• Public Health

Background:

• Rectal bleeding is a common primary care concern and a colorectal cancer risk marker.
• Many patients with rectal bleeding do not complete timely colonoscopies.
• Improving colonoscopy completion is crucial for early cancer detection.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate if a phone-based scheduling intervention improves colonoscopy completion rates.
• To assess the impact of proactive outreach on patient follow-up for rectal bleeding.

Main Methods:

• A nonrandomized pre-post intervention study was conducted.
• Patients with rectal bleeding and an open colonoscopy order were included.
• An intervention group received up to three phone calls for scheduling assistance.

Main Results:

• The intervention cohort showed a significantly higher rate of colonoscopy completion at 365 days (p = .04).
• Improved 'loop closure' rates were observed across various demographic groups.
• Proactive calls demonstrated effectiveness in patient follow-up.

Conclusions:

• Primary care-based phone outreach successfully increased colonoscopy completion rates.
• This intervention offers a scalable solution to improve adherence to colorectal cancer screening.
• Proactive patient engagement is key to overcoming barriers in diagnostic procedures.