Patient-provider communication in cancer screening

In this issue of JGIM, 3 articles illustrate the importance of different aspects of patient-physician communication to cancer screening.

Abstract

General internists frequently offer screening tests for cancer to their patients. Shared decision making, in which the patient and the physician discuss and make decisions together, is necessary for screening to have maximum impact with minimum cost. Only then can the physician understand the patient's overall priorities, decision-making behaviors, and comprehension of the risk of developing the cancer and the benefits and risks of the test (and any follow-up interventions). Although physicians are guided by scientific evidence, patients want care that addresses their largely culturally determined personal values.1 Patient-physician communication becomes even more important when the patient and the physician come from different cultures. In this issue of JGIM, 3 articles illustrate the importance of different aspects of patient-physician communication to cancer screening.