Rarely has utilization of genetic counseling for Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer (HBOC) been studied separately from
utilization of testing. At Kaiser Permanente Colorado, consistently only 30% of all members referred for HBOC attend genetic
counseling. To increase the volume of genetic counseling appointments, a patient navigator approach was pilot tested in a
randomized-controlled trial over 3 months. A total of 125 members were referred for HBOC genetic counseling (55 randomized
to PN, 70 randomized to usual care). Utilization of referrals for Navigator-assisted members was 44%, compared to 31% in the
usual care arm (
p=0.16). The patient navigator significantly decreased time to appointment, with over 80% of Navigator-assisted members seen
for genetic counseling less than three months from referral date, compared to 32% in usual care (
p=0.002). patient navigator assistance shortens time from referral to appointment for HBOC genetic counseling, and may increase
utilization of such services.
KEY WORDS: genetic counseling - utilization - hereditary breast and ovarian cancer - cancer risk counseling - patient navigator.