Patient-Centered Discussions About Prostate Cancer Screening: A Real-World Approach

National guidelines recommend that primary care providers discuss the risks and benefits of prostate cancer screening with their pa-tients but give little guidance on how to fit such a complex discussion into a busy clinic encounter. The authors propose a process-oriented approach (Ask-Tell-Ask) that promotes tai-lored conversations and value-based recommendations. The Ask-Tell-Ask approach includes diagnosing a patient’s informa-tional needs, providing targeted education based on those needs, and making a shared decision about testing. This time-efficient model emphasizes the provider’s role as an interactive guide rather than a one-way supplier of information. Although there is no way to make these discussions simple, this stream-lined strategy can help patients and providers efficiently nego-tiate the complex and important decision of screening for pros-tate cancer. Ann Intern Med. 2010;153:661-665. www.annals.or