Thank you to Dr. Michael Schweitzer and his staff for inspiring this blog post with their excellent question about letters from Cancer Care Ontario (CCO). Once eligible for cancer screening, CCO’s correspondence program automatically sends out ‘Invitation to Screen’ letters to patients along with a privacy notice explaining how their information is protected and how to opt out of the correspondence program if that’s their preference.
This is followed up with a second `Invitation to Screen’ letter if needed. After screening is completed, CCO’s correspondence program sends out letters indicating if the results are normal, unsatisfactory or abnormal. Details are available here.
Patients not wanting to receive correspondence from CCO can opt out by completing a Participation Information Form that can be faxed or mailed in. They can also call CCO’s contact centre (1-866-662-9233).
The only person that can opt out is the patient. We can assist our patients if they choose to opt out by giving them this form and offering to fax it in. Unfortunately, writing these instructions on the lab requisition or calling ourselves will not work.
For more information on adding your name to the invitation letter, please check my previous blog post on the Physician Linked Correspondence program here.