Judy Mouchawar

Impact of direct-to-consumer advertising for hereditary breast cancer testing on genetic services at a managed care organization: a naturally-occurring experiment.

Purpose: To describe the impact of Myriad Genetics, Inc.s direct-to-consumer advertising (DTC-ad) campaign on cancer genetic services within two Managed Care Organizations, Kaiser Permanente Colorado (KPCO), Denver, Colorado, where the ad campaign occurred, and Henry Ford Health System (HFHS), Detroit, Michigan, where there were no advertisements.Methods: The main outcome measures were the changes in number and pretest mutation probability of referrals approved for cancer genetic services at KPCO and HFHS during the campaign versus the year prior, and mutation probability of those undergoing testing.Results: At KPCO, referrals increased 244% during the DTC-ad compared to the same time period a year earlier (P value < 0.001). The proportion of referrals at high pretest probability of a mutation (10% or greater) dropped from 69% the previous year to 48% during the campaign (P value < 0.001). There was no significant change in pretest mutation probability among women who underwent testing between the two time periods. HFHS reported no significant change between the two time periods for numbers or mutation probability of referrals, or for mutation probability of women tested.Conclusion: The DTC-ad caused significant increase in demand for cancer genetic services. In the face of potential future DTC-ad for inherited cancer risk, providers and payers need to consider the delivery of genetic services and genetic education for persons of all risk levels.

Does having insurance affect differences in clinical presentation between Hispanic and non‐Hispanic white women with breast cancer?

Hispanic women with breast cancer present differently than do non‐Hispanic white (NHW) women. Lack of access to care has been offered as an explanation for these differences. In this study breast cancer presentation was examined in Hispanic women in a comprehensive, equal‐access health care system.

Increasing Utilization of Cancer Genetic Counseling Services Using a Patient Navigator Model

Rarely has utilization of genetic counseling for Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer (HBOC) been studied separately from utilization of testing. At Kaiser Permanente Colorado, consistently only 30% of all members referred for HBOC attend genetic counseling. To increase the volume of genetic counseling appointments, a patient navigator approach was pilot tested in a randomized-controlled trial over 3 months. A total of 125 members were referred for HBOC genetic counseling (55 randomized to PN, 70 randomized to usual care). Utilization of referrals for Navigator-assisted members was 44%, compared to 31% in the usual care arm (p=0.16). The patient navigator significantly decreased time to appointment, with over 80% of Navigator-assisted members seen for genetic counseling less than three months from referral date, compared to 32% in usual care (p=0.002). patient navigator assistance shortens time from referral to appointment for HBOC genetic counseling, and may increase utilization of such services.

Caffeine, cajoling, and other strategies to maximize clinician survey response rates

An ongoing objective in health services research is to increase response rates to clinician surveys to ensure generalizability of findings. Three HMOs in the Cancer Research Network participated in a primary care clinician survey to better understand organizational characteristics affecting adoption and implementation of breast and cervical cancer screening guidelines. A four-stage data collection strategy was implemented to maximize response. This included careful attention to survey design and layout, extensive piloting, choice of token incentive, use of “local champions,” and denominator management. An overall response rate of 91% was attained, ranging from83 to 100% among the plans(N = 621). Although the response rate after the second stage of data collection met commonly used standards, the authors argue for the four-stage method due to the possibility of differences when comparing early and late responders. This is important when multiple plans with differing structure and internal characteristics are surveyed.

The sensitivity of Medicare billing claims data for monitoring mammography use by elderly women.

Mammography use is monitored through Medicare billing claims; however, the sensitivity of this data source has not been previously described. This study included 10,852 Colorado women ages 65 and older with a mammogram in 1998 as registered by the Colorado Mammography Project who were Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) enrollees. These records were matched to Medicare billing data to assess the proportion of those mammograms submitted for payment to Medicare. The overall sensitivity of the FFS Medicare billing data for screening mammography was 85 percent. Medicare billing claims were less sensitive for younger women, African Americans, women with some college education, and women with supplementary private insurance. In Colorado, the Medicare FFS billing claims understates mammography usage by 15 percent. Care must be taken when comparing mammography use derived from Medicare billing claims, as the sensitivity of billing data can vary substantially by age, race, and socioeconomic status.

Guidelines for breast and ovarian cancer genetic counseling referral: adoption and implementation in HMOs.

Purpose To describe referral guidelines for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC) counseling among a group of Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) and awareness of such among primary care clinicians.Methods An organizational assessment of plan policies and a primary care clinician survey.Results Five of the 7 HMOs reported having HBOC referral guidelines. Differences between plans criteria included age of breast cancer onset, inclusion of male breast cancer, and second-degree relatives. Of the 91% clinicians responding, only half were aware of the HBOC guidelines. Awareness was higher in the plan with the most intense implementation effort (OR = 3.0, 1.5–5.9) and among gynecologists (OR = 2.8, 1.5–5.4).Conclusions Although HBOC counseling guidelines within participating HMOs identify persons for referral that can be easily incorporated into routine practice, continued work is needed to better understand how to help primary care providers identify high-risk persons, and new models of providing genetic services may need to be considered.

Recommendations for care related to follow-up of abnormal cancer screening tests: accuracy of patient report.

When using patient self-report of processes of care as part of measuring quality performance, validity and reliability are important considerations. In this study, the congruence of patient report of recommendations of screening follow-up care was compared with record audit data. Survey data were collected from a random sample of patients with abnormal breast (n = 230) or cervical (n = 219) cancer screening tests from four health centers. With patient consent, record audits were conducted to validate self-report. Measures of congruence for recommendations for follow-up were calculated along with sensitivity and specificity for procedure-specific recommendations. Overall congruence was higher in the mammography sample (81%) as compared to the Pap sample (61%). Predictors of overall congruence for the abnormal Pap test sample included health plan, self-reported health status, and test result. There were no significant predictors of congruence for the abnormal mammogram test sample from the potential variables collected. Raw agreement rates support using patient self-report in assessing abnormal test follow-up recommendations.