Quality Improvement Summit 2016: Shared Decision Making and Prostate Cancer Screening.

Area of Science:

• Urology
• Medical Decision Making
• Quality Improvement

Background:

• The American Urological Association Quality Improvement Summit convenes experts to discuss quality improvement and patient safety.
• Prostate cancer screening guidelines emphasize shared decision making for prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing.
• The summit focused on integrating patient values into shared decision making for prostate cancer screening and treatment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore techniques for identifying and understanding patient values in prostate cancer screening.
• To promote the incorporation of shared decision making into clinical practice for PSA testing.

Main Methods:

• Information was presented by physicians and experts in shared decision making.
• An open forum allowed participants to share experiences and discuss tools for shared decision making.

Main Results:

• Shared decision making fosters collaboration between physicians and patients when multiple options exist.
• Effective shared decision making requires understanding patient preferences and values.

Conclusions:

• Formal shared decision making procedures for PSA testing should be integrated into practice.
• Tools and strategies discussed at the summit can support providers, enhance communication, and improve care quality.