Patient-Provider Communication About Prostate Cancer Screening and Treatment: New Evidence From the Health Information National Trends Survey

The American Urological Association, American Cancer Society, and American College of Physicians recommend that patients and providers make a shared decision with respect to prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing for prostate cancer (PCa). The goal of this study is to determine the extent of patient-provider communication for PSA testing and treatment of PCa and to examine the patient specific factors associated with this communication. Using recent data from the Health Information National Trends Survey, this study examined the association of patient characteristics with four domains of patient-provider communication regarding PSA test and PCa treatment: (1) expert opinion of PSA test, (2) accuracy of PSA test, (3) side effects of PCa treatment, and (4) treatment need of PCa. The current results suggested low level of communication for PSA testing and treatment of PCa across four domains. Less than 10% of the respondents report having communication about all four domains. Patient characteristics like recent medical checkup, regular healthcare provider, global health status, age group, marital status, race, annual household income, and already having undergone a PSA test are associated with patient-provider communication. There are few discussions about PSA testing and PCa treatment options between healthcare providers and their patients, which limits the shared decision-making process for PCa screening and treatment as recommended by the current best practice guidelines. This study helps identify implications for changes in physician practice to adhere with the PSA screening guidelines.