Patient-Centered Medical Home and Up-To-Date on Screening for Breast and Colorectal Cancer

Introduction: Effectiveness of the patient-centered medical home model for promoting cancer screening utilization is uncertain, with prior research showing mixed results. Using national patient-provider pair data, this study examined whether having a patient-centered medical home-certified provider influences receipt of recommended screening for breast and colorectal cancer.

Methods: A cross-sectional analysis was performed in 2019 on data from the 2015-2016 Medical Organizational Survey and Medicare Expenditure Panel Survey. Participants included U.S. adults aged 50-75 years who met screening guidelines from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Multivariable regression models estimated the up-to-date rates of breast cancer and colorectal cancer screening between the patient-centered medical home and non-patient-centered medical home groups.

Results: The study sample comprised 4,052 patient-provider pairs, representing a weighted 40.1 million screening-eligible individuals cared for by 2,314 practices. Of those, 1,909 (48.2%) were cared for by patient-centered medical home-certified providers. Unadjusted up-to-date rates were similar between patient-centered medical homes and non-patient-centered medical homes (breast cancer screening, 85.4% vs 83.4%; colorectal cancer screening, 73.3% vs 73.3%). Adjusted analysis indicated no significant differences in rates of breast cancer (p=0.228) or colorectal cancer screening (p=0.878). In subgroup analyses, however, having a patient-centered medical home-certified provider was associated with higher screening rates among individuals aged 50-64 years and those with a private plan for breast cancer and among other racial/ethnic minorities for colorectal cancer.

Conclusions: Obtaining care from a patient-centered medical home-certified provider is not associated with increased breast cancer or colorectal cancer screening uptake. Findings of this study suggest that tailoring cancer screening strategies to patient mix may be needed to improve cancer screening utilization in patient-centered medical homes.