BMC Health Services Research (Jun 2021)

The impact of personalized clinical decision support on primary care patients’ views of cancer prevention and screening: a cross-sectional survey

  • Daniel M. Saman,
  • Ella A. Chrenka,
  • Melissa L. Harry,
  • Clayton I. Allen,
  • Laura A. Freitag,
  • Stephen E. Asche,
  • Anjali R. Truitt,
  • Heidi L. Ekstrom,
  • Patrick J. O’Connor,
  • JoAnn M. Sperl-Hillen,
  • Jeanette Y. Ziegenfuss,
  • Thomas E. Elliott

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-021-06551-9
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 21, no. 1
pp. 1 – 11

Abstract

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Abstract Background Few studies have assessed the impact of clinical decision support (CDS), with or without shared decision-making tools (SDMTs), on patients’ perceptions of cancer screening or prevention in primary care settings. This cross-sectional survey was conducted to understand primary care patient’s perceptions on cancer screening or prevention. Methods We mailed surveys (10/2018–1/2019) to 749 patients aged 18 to 75 years within 15 days after an index clinical encounter at 36 primary care clinics participating in a clinic-randomized control trial of a CDS system for cancer prevention. All patients were overdue for cancer screening or human papillomavirus vaccination. The survey compared respondents’ answers by study arm: usual care; CDS; or CDS + SDMT. Results Of 387 respondents (52% response rate), 73% reported having enough time to discuss cancer prevention options with their primary care provider (PCP), 64% reported their PCP explained the benefits of the cancer screening choice very well, and 32% of obese patients reported discussing weight management, with two-thirds reporting selecting a weight management intervention. Usual care respondents were significantly more likely to decide on colorectal cancer screening than CDS respondents (p < 0.01), and on tobacco cessation than CDS + SDMT respondents (p = 0.02) and both CDS and CDS + SDMT respondents (p < 0.001). Conclusions Most patients reported discussing cancer prevention needs with PCPs, with few significant differences between the three study arms in patient-reported cancer prevention care. Upcoming research will assess differences in screening and vaccination rates between study arms during the post-intervention follow-up period. Trial registration clinicaltrials.gov , NCT02986230 , December 6, 2016.

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