Group Health researchers had shown that more of our patients got screened for colon cancer when they used electronic health records to identify patients who weren't screened regularly for colon cancer, used automated reminders to encourage these patients to be screened, and sent them at-home stool kits through the mail. Now, with Kaiser Permanente colleagues, they report that this approach is cost-effective, significantly lowering health care costs over two years.

Read the news release: Home tests and automated reminders cut colon cancer screening costs.