"House Calls" for Patient Reminders

Lives are busy and important regular health screenings can be forgotten. In response to this situation, Camino Medical Group (CMG) has created an outreach program to find and remind patients about overdue screenings. As a result, primary care patients who are overdue for regular screenings, like mammograms and pap smears, may receive a reminder call from their doctor’s medical assistant, who can also assist them in scheduling an appointment.

“Most patients simply forget and appreciate the reminder call,” explained Ed Yu, M.D., CMG family medicine physician and chairperson of the Quality Committee. “We recognize that patients always have the right to decline, but we want to be proactive about their ongoing preventive care.”

The Quality Committee uses evidence-based practices to keep CMG patient care up-to-date for diabetes, congestive heart disease, hypertension and other chronic diseases that require ongoing management. “These screenings are important, even potentially life saving, because earlier detection of many diseases means more effective treatment,” said Dr. Yu.

The Quality Committee invites patient input as these proactive outreach programs continue to evolve. Please e-mail your suggestions to Dr. Yu at yue@caminomedical.org and type “QC Feedback” in the subject line.