Genetic counseling services for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer: patients’ experience and satisfaction with different service models.

This publication examines how different care delivery models for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC) testing affect patient experience, with a particular focus on whether patients receive formal genetic counseling.

Study design:

• • 501 patients undergoing HBOC genetic testing completed a 35‑item survey.
• • Instruments included:
  • • Genetic Counseling Satisfaction Scale
  • • Decision Regret Scale
  • • Modified Royal Marsden Satisfaction Questionnaire
• • Clinical and demographic data were supplemented from medical records.
• • Analyses used descriptive statistics and Fisher’s exact tests.

Key findings:

Differences between service models, and between those who did and did not attend genetic counseling, were seen in four specific aspects of the testing experience:

1. • Whether patients received written or other informational materials before testing.
2. • Whether patients were informed that they could have additional discussions with the genetics team.
3. • How clear the expected timeline for receiving results was.
4. • How clearly the method of result delivery (e.g., in person, phone, letter/portal) was explained.

Despite these differences:

• • Overall satisfaction with the genetic testing process was high across all models.
• • Decision regret related to undergoing testing was low, regardless of service model or counseling participation.

Implications:

• • Service model structure and access to formal genetic counseling shape certain informational and process-related aspects of patient experience.
• • Alternative or streamlined care models aimed at increasing access to HBOC testing can still maintain high satisfaction and low regret, provided core informational needs are addressed.