Comprehensive discussion with docs ups cancer screening

(HealthDay)—Having more comprehensive discussions about colorectal cancer (CRC) screening with primary care providers (PCPs) is associated with increased odds of screening, according to a study published in the April issue of the American Journal of Managed Care.

David M. Mosen, Ph.D., M.P.H., from Kaiser Permanente Northwest in Portland, Ore., and colleagues examined the correlation between the comprehensiveness of CRC screening discussion by PCPs and the completion of screening in a observational study involving 883 participants overdue for CRC screening. Of the 249 participants who completed screening, 84 percent were surveyed about their PCPs' discussion of CRC screening and patient beliefs pertaining to screening.

The researchers found that the average score for comprehensiveness of CRC discussion was 0.4 (range 0 to 1) and the average score for perceived benefits of screening was 4.0 (range 1 to 5). Almost all screeners completed the fecal immunochemical test (95.2 percent). The odds of screening were significantly increased with more comprehensive discussion of CRC screening (odds ratio [OR], 1.51). Increased screening was also associated with higher perceived benefits (OR, 1.46) and with one or more PCP visits (OR, 5.82).

"We found that patients' self-report of more comprehensive discussion of CRC screening by PCPs and a greater perceived level of benefit were independently associated with receipt of CRC screening," the authors write. "This suggests that CRC screening efforts may be usefully directed toward increasing the intensity of screening discussion by PCPs and other care providers."