Online Screening and Virtual Patient Education for Hereditary Cancer Risk Assessment and Testing

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:To use online screening and virtual patient education tools to improve the provision of hereditary cancer risk assessment.METHODS:We conducted a prospective, single-arm study in which clinicians at five U.S. community obstetrics and gynecology practices underwent an 8-week observation followed by 3-4 weeks of training on online patient screening and virtual patient education (prerecorded video with or without a genetic counselor phone call) for genetic testing-eligible patients. After a 4-week practice period, hereditary cancer risk assessment and patient education metrics were collected at 8 weeks and compared with preintervention metrics using univariate conditional logistic regression models stratified by site. The primary outcome was the change in genetic testing completion rate. Clinicians and patients were invited to complete a satisfaction survey.RESULTS:A total of 5,795 and 5,135 patients were seen before and after the intervention, respectively. The proportion of screened patients meeting testing guidelines increased from 21.6% before the intervention to 28.2% after the intervention (odds ratio [OR] 1.36, 95% CI, 1.26-1.47, P