| The following article is part of The Clinical Advisor’s coverage from the 2018 American Association of Nurse Practitioners’ annual meeting in Denver. Our staff will be reporting live on original research, case studies, and professional outreach and advocacy news from leading NPs in various therapeutic areas. Check back for ongoing updates from AANP 2018. |
DENVER — The percentage of nurse practitioners (NPs) who have ordered the multitarget stool DNA (mt-sDNA) test for colorectal cancer screening has increased significantly since the test became available, according to research presented at the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) 2018 National Conference.
Amy Stern, BSN, RN, and colleagues from Exact Sciences in Madison, Wisconsin, sought to determine the rate of NP adoption of the mt-sDNA test in order to develop more effective strategies for partnering with NPs. The researchers used the National Plan & Provider Enumeration System (NPPES) to identify NPs. The number of mt-sDNA test kits ordered by NPs and the percentage of all prescribing NPs were evaluated using data from Exact Sciences, manufacturer of the Cologuard® mt-sDNA test.
A total of 15.2% of healthcare providers ordering the mt-sDNA test were NPs at the time of product launch in August 2014. In 2015, a total of 2469 NPs placed orders for mt-sDNA tests (9.7% of all healthcare providers [HCPs]). This number increased to 6529 NPs (12.6% of total HCPs) in 2016 and 13,104 NPs (15.2% of total HCPs) in 2017, reflecting year-over-year increases of 167% and 98.8%, respectively.
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“In comparing year-over-year data of healthcare providers who have prescribed the mt-sDNA test, the percentage of providers that are NPs is rapidly increasing,” the authors conclude. “These data confirm the growing role of NPs in ordering the mt-sDNA test for their screening eligible patients.”
Disclosure: This study was conducted by Exact Sciences.
For more coverage of AANP 2018, click here.
Reference
Stern A, Mlinarevich N, Sandler N, Van Thomme J, Parks P. The role of nurse practitioners in improving colorectal cancer screening rates with the multitarget stool DNA test. Presented at the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) 2018 National Conference. June 26-28, 2018, Denver, CO. Industry Scientific Poster 9.
