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Primary care physician compliance with colorectal cancer screening guidelines Full Text
Cancer Causes and Control, 06/30/2011
Nodora JN et al.– Guideline compliance was higher for fecal occult blood test (FOBT) than colonoscopy; overuse of screening for these modalities was reported among physicians. Primary care physicians (PCPs) are not adequately following colorectal cancer (CRC) screening guidelines.
Methods- Survey data from 984 PCPs in Arizona were used.
- Self–reported CRC screening practices, recommendations, and compliance with guidelines were assessed.
- Physician and practice characteristics associated with guideline compliance were also evaluated.
- While 77.5% of physicians reported using national screening guidelines, only 51.7% reported recommendations consistent with the guidelines.
- Younger physicians were significantly more likely to report compliance with screening guidelines (OR=1.50, 95% CI=1.07–2.10) as were female clinicians (OR=1.46, 95% CI=1.11–1.92).
- Physicians practicing in solo (OR=0.33, 95% CI=0.19–0.58), group (OR=0.36, 95% CI=0.21–0.62), or community health centers (OR=0.37, 95% CI=0.17–0.81) were significantly less likely to report following guidelines as compared to those in academic practice.
- Guideline compliance was higher for fecal occult blood test (FOBT) (65.0%) than colonoscopy (56.7%); overuse of screening for these modalities was reported among 34.4% of physicians.