Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Aug;14(4):609-619.
doi: 10.1055/s-0043-1769910. Epub 2023 Aug 9.

The Positive Effect of an Online Appointment Portal on a Breast Cancer Screening Program

Angela Chiereghin  1 , Lorenzo Pizzi  1 , Lorena Squillace  1 , Carmen Bazzani  1 , Lorenzo Roti  2 , Francesca Mezzetti  1   3
Affiliations

The Positive Effect of an Online Appointment Portal on a Breast Cancer Screening Program

Angela Chiereghin et al. Appl Clin Inform. 2023 Aug.

Abstract

Background: The adoption of web-based appointment methods by health care systems is increasing.

Objectives: This study primarily aimed to evaluate in the setting of an organized breast cancer screening program the actual usage of an online appointment portal by the target population, i.e., how the online tool was used (type and timing of the actions performed) and by whom (users' characteristics); the effect of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on its usage was also investigated. The effect of adopting this tool on the attendance to breast cancer screening was contextually investigated.

Methods: Electronic data records of 75,903 women (45-74 years old, residing in the territory of Bologna Local Health Authority) were retrospectively reviewed.

Results: In total, 12.4% of women logged into the online portal at least once. Most of them (79.9%) rescheduled, 15.7% viewed, and 4.4% cancelled their own appointment. In addition, 40.6% of all rescheduling actions were performed by the online portal; the remaining was performed by the toll-free number/dedicated email address. The highest peak (13.8%) of web accesses was registered at 10 a.m. Monday to Friday, when the toll-free number service is available. Percentages of portal usage were higher: (1) among the younger women, of Italian nationality, and for the first time invited to mammographic screening (p < 0.0001), and (2) in the pandemic period versus the prepandemic period (12.5 vs. 8.6%, respectively; p < 0.001). Finally, when compared to not using, the online portal usage led to an overall reduction in the no-show rate of almost 20% (p < 0.0001).

Conclusion: The action mainly performed by using the online appointment portal was the appointment rescheduling. The usage of this tool had a positive effect on the no-show rate and it can be speculated that has led to a reduction of the request load to be handled by the center's screening staff. Finally, this study confirmed that the COVID-19 pandemic boosted the use of digital technologies.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

None declared.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flowchart of the eligible women.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Percentage distribution of daily accesses to the online appointment portal by time and day of the week.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Sung H, Ferlay J, Siegel R L et al.Global cancer statistics 2020: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries. CA Cancer J Clin. 2021;71(03):209–249. - PubMed
    1. U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Nelson H D, Tyne K, Naik A, Bougatsos C, Chan B K, Humphrey L.Screening for breast cancer: an update for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Ann Intern Med 200915110727–737., W237-42 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Harris R, Yeatts J, Kinsinger L. Breast cancer screening for women ages 50 to 69 years a systematic review of observational evidence. Prev Med. 2011;53(03):108–114. - PubMed
    1. Catarino R R, Vassilakos P P, Royannez-Drevard I I et al.Barriers to cervical cancer screening in Geneva (DEPIST Study) J Low Genit Tract Dis. 2016;20(02):135–138. - PubMed
    1. Young B, Bedford L, Kendrick D, Vedhara K, Robertson J FR, das Nair R. Factors influencing the decision to attend screening for cancer in the UK: a meta-ethnography of qualitative research. J Public Health (Oxf) 2018;40(02):315–339. - PubMed