Quality Health Initiative (QHI) Screening
We all want what is best for our loved ones. Out of this simple truth, PCCNC QHI Screening was born. People often ask at what age to begin prostate screening. Below are key quality indicators to ascertain whether or not the people you care about have been screened adequately and appropriately.
First things first, EVERY MAN SHOULD HAVE a BASELINE RISK ASSESSMENT in his 40s. The assessment should include a men's health blood panel. AT A MINIMUM, the panel should include a prostate specific antigen (PSA), cholesterol, A1C blood tests.
These results can empower the individual man to make changes if he is pre-diabetic or pre-hypertensive, and monitor his success by screening on a routine basis. The results of the PSA blood test can help him to better plan his future need for prostate screening based on his personal individual risk by referring to the diagram below.
First things first, EVERY MAN SHOULD HAVE a BASELINE RISK ASSESSMENT in his 40s. The assessment should include a men's health blood panel. AT A MINIMUM, the panel should include a prostate specific antigen (PSA), cholesterol, A1C blood tests.
These results can empower the individual man to make changes if he is pre-diabetic or pre-hypertensive, and monitor his success by screening on a routine basis. The results of the PSA blood test can help him to better plan his future need for prostate screening based on his personal individual risk by referring to the diagram below.
Shah A, Polascik TJ, George DJ, Anderson J, Hyslop T, Ellis AM, Armstrong AJ, Ferrandino M, Preminger GM, Gupta RT, Lee WR, Barrett NJ, Ragsdale J, Mills C, Check DK, Aminsharifi A, Schulman A, Sze C, Tsivian E, Tay KJ, Patierno S, Oeffinger KC, Shah K. Implementation and Impact of a Risk-Stratified Prostate Cancer Screening Algorithm as a Clinical Decision Support Tool in a Primary Care Network. J Gen Intern Med. 2021 Jan;36(1):92-99. doi: 10.1007/s11606-020-06124-2. Epub 2020 Sep 1. PMID: 32875501; PMCID: PMC7858708.
Secondly, a full prostate screening includes BOTH a PSA blood test AND a digital rectal exam (DRE). The DRE detects the most aggressive -potentially deadly- forms of prostate cancer. These MOST AGGRESSIVE cancers WILL NOT BE DETECTED by a PSA blood test. Critical reactions to the DRE are usually driven by a physician or other medical provider who does not know how to adequately perform the exam. The short (6 minute) video below details what the exam is, why it is done, and to ascertain the quality of the screening.