Human Papillomavirus Testing by Veterans Administration Women's Health Providers: Are They Adhering to Guidelines?

Evidence-based guidelines have been created by professional societies, including the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) and American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology (ASCCP), for use of human papillomavirus (HPV) cotesting in cervical cancer screening. We investigated whether Veterans Health Administration (VA) providers at one VA medical center follow these guidelines.

Retrospective chart review of women aged 21-65 who had an HPV test ordered with pap testing in fiscal year 2014 at one Veterans Administration (VA) medical center to evaluate concordance of HPV ordering with screening (USPSTF) and management (ASCCP) guidelines. We collected data on patient characteristics and gynecologic history and documented the reason, if given, for HPV testing.

Of the 210 eligible HPV tests evaluated, 142 tests (68%) were determined to be guideline discordant. Of the 142 guideline-discordant tests, 90 had no documented reason for HPV testing in the chart. Site of care was not significant.

This study demonstrates potential overuse of HPV testing among women's health providers at one VA medical center. This may indicate that VA providers lack an understanding of HPV cotesting guidelines. Further studies are needed to characterize VA provider adherence to HPV testing guidelines nationally. Implementation of educational interventions and decision aids may improve VA providers' adherence to guidelines.