RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 How Men with Prostate Cancer Choose Specialists: A Qualitative Study
JF The Journal of the American Board of Family
                Medicine
JO J Am Board Fam Med
FD American Board of Family Medicine
SP 220
OP 229
DO 10.3122/jabfm.2017.02.160163
VO 30
IS 2
A1 Jiang, Tammy
A1 Stillson, Christian H.
A1 Pollack, Craig Evan
A1 Crossette, Linda
A1 Ross, Michelle
A1 Radhakrishnan, Archana
A1 Grande, David
YR 2017
UL http://www.jabfm.org/content/30/2/220.abstract
AB Objective: The specific specialist that a patient sees can have a large influence on the type of care they receive.Methods: We administered semistructured interviews with 47 men diagnosed with prostate adenocarcinoma between 2012 and 2014. Telephone interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using a systematic thematic approach.Results: Three profiles of patients emerged for choosing specialists: active (21.3%), partially active (53.2%), and passive (25.5%). Active patients conducted substantial research when choosing a diagnosing urologist and a treating specialist: they searched online, consulted other men with prostate cancer, and/or visited multiple specialists for opinions. Partially active patients took only 1 additional step to find a treating specialist on their own after receiving a referral from their diagnosing urologist. Passive patients relied exclusively on referrals from their primary care physicians (PCPs) and diagnosing urologists.Conclusion: The majority of patients relied on their PCPs for referrals to diagnosing urologists and on their diagnosing urologists to choose the treating specialist. Given these findings and the significance of specialist choice in determining treatment, it is important that PCPs recognize their indirect but potentially important effect on treatment choice when making referrals for prostate cancer. PCPs should consider counseling patients about seeking second opinions from providers with different treatment perspectives and participating in treatment decisions.