Abstract
Background
As health care continues to evolve toward 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 terminology. 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 survey was administered electronically to patients scheduled for a screening mammogram
within a multisite health care system. Participants were asked to objectively define
and interpret 8 medical terms common to breast biopsy pathology reports. Patient perception
of the utility of various educational tools was also assessed. Demographic information
including health literacy, education level, previous cancer diagnosis, and primary
language was collected.
Results
In total, 527 patients completed the survey. Terms including “malignant” and “benign”
were the most correctly defined at 80% and 73%, respectively, whereas only 1% correctly
defined “high grade.” Factors including race/ethnicity and education level were correlated
with more correct scores. Patients preferred educational tools that were specific
to their diagnosis and available at the time they were reviewing their results.
Conclusion
Patient comprehension of common medical terminology is poor. Potential assumptions
of understanding based on patient factors including education, past medical history,
and occupation are misinformed. With the newly mandated immediate release of information
to patients, there is a pressing need to develop and integrate educational tools to
support patients through all aspects of their care.
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: June 14, 2022
Accepted:
May 5,
2022
Footnotes
This work was previously presented at the 17th Annual Academic Surgical Congress, February 1–3, 2022, Orlando, FL.
Identification
Copyright
© 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
