BACKGROUND: Cancer screening rates are suboptimal for low-income patients. OBJECTIVE: To assess an intervention to increase cancer screening among patients in a safety-net primary care practice. DESIGN: Patients at an inner-city family practice who were overdue for cancer screening were randomized to intervention or usual care. Screening rates at 1 year were compared using the chi-square test, and multivariable analysis was performed to adjust for patient factors. SUBJECTS: All average-risk patients at an inner-city family practice overdue for mammography or colorectal cancer (CRC) screening. Patients' ages were 40 to 74 years (mean 53.9, SD 8.7) including 40.8 % African Americans, 4.2 % Latinos, 23.2 % with Medicaid and 10.9 % without any form of insurance. INTERVENTION: The 6-month intervention to promote cancer screening included letters, automated phone calls, prompts and a mailed Fecal Immunochemical Testing (FIT) Kit. MAIN MEASURES: Rates of cancer screening at 1 year. KEY RESULTS: Three hundred sixty-six patients overdue for screening were randomly assigned to intervention (n=185) or usual care (n=181). Primary analysis revealed significantly higher rates of cancer screening in intervention subjects: 29.7 % vs. 16.7 % for mammography (p =0.034) and 37.7 % vs. 16.7 % for CRC screening (p=0.0002). In the intervention group, 20 % of mammography screenings and 9.3 % of CRC screenings occurred at the early assessment, while the remainder occurred after repeated interventions. Within the CRC intervention group 44 % of screened patients used the mailed FIT kit. On multivariable analysis the CRC screening rates remained significantly higher in the intervention group, while the breast cancer screening rates were not statistically different. CONCLUSIONS: A multimodal intervention significantly increased CRC screening rates among patients in a safety-net primary care practice. These results suggest that relatively inexpensive letters and automated calls can be combined for a larger effect. Results also suggest that mailed screening kits may be a promising way to increase average-risk CRC screening.KEY WORDS: breast neoplasms; colorectal neoplasms; cancer screening; healthcare disparities.

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The use of online personal health records (PHRs) threatens to transform the digital divide to a health care divide among the underserved. Little is known about underserved patients' ability to access online PHRs. We examined these factors among patients within safety-net practices. Among respondents (N = 654), only 12% had no experience of using a computer, and most were interested in using it to communicate with their provider. Age, sex, and race were not associated with interest in PHRs. A majority of patients have access to the Internet and are interested in using a PHR to manage their care, but they are not prepared.

Background Continuity of care is a critical element of residents' educational experience in primary care programs.