A. Verosky1, L. D. Leonard1, S. Vemuru1, B. Himelhoch2, V. Huynh1, D. Wolverton2, K. Jaiswal1, G. Ahrendt1, S. Kim1, E. Cumbler1, 3, S. Tevis1 1University Of Colorado Denver, Department Of Surgery, Aurora, CO, USA 2University Of Colorado Denver, Department Of Radiology, Aurora, CO, USA 3University Of Colorado Denver, Department Of Medicine, Aurora, CO, USA
Introduction: As healthcare continues to evolve towards information transparency, an increasing number of patients have access to their medical records, including result reports that were not originally designed to be patient-facing. Previous studies have demonstrated that patients have poor understanding of medical jargon. However, patient comprehension of terminology specific to breast pathology reports has not been well studied. We assessed patient understanding of common medical terms found in breast pathology reports.
Methods: A 29-question survey was administered by email to patients scheduled for a screening mammogram at four distinct locations within a multisite healthcare system between June 28, 2021 and July 16, 2021. Participants were asked to objectively define and interpret 8 medical terms common to breast biopsy pathology reports. Patient-generated definitions were categorized as correct, partially correct, or incorrect by two independent reviewers using a rubric of definitions. Any discrepancies in scoring were then reviewed by a 3rd independent reviewer. Health literacy was independently evaluated using three previously validated screening questions. Demographic information including education level, previous cancer diagnosis, and primary language was also collected.
Results: 147 patients completed the survey (21.3% response rate). 74% of the respondents had adequate health literacy and 96% of the respondents reported English as their primary language. A majority of respondents (76%) correctly defined three or fewer medical terms and no participant correctly defined all eight terms. ‘Malignant’ and ‘Benign’ were the terms defined correctly most often (80%, 73% respectively). Conversely, the terms ‘High Grade (1%)’ and ‘Carcinoma (3%)’ were least frequently defined correctly. However, 61% of patients still correctly interpreted ‘High Grade’ as ‘bad news,’ while 88% correctly interpreted ‘Carcinoma’ as ‘bad news’. ‘Neoplasm’ had the highest share (48%) of ‘unsure’ or blank responses.
Conclusions: Patient comprehension of medical jargon common to breast biopsy pathology reports is poor even in a population with adequate health literacy. With the newly mandated immediate release of information to patients through the 21st Century Cures Act, there is a pressing need to develop educational tools to support patients viewing result reports independently.
