The US Preventive Services Task Force is a panel of primary care experts that use a systematic approach to make recommendations about clinical preventive services. The Task Force reviews evidence concerning both the benefits and harms of widespread implementation of a preventive service. When the evidence is insufficient to determine net benefit, the Task Force makes an “I” or “insufficient evidence” statement.
An “I” statement is a statement of the weakness of the evidence about the benefits and harms that may result from performing the service.
What does that mean? It means the Task Force has concluded that current evidence is insufficient to recommend for or against routinely providing these preventive services in the clinical setting.
Some clinicians may wonder: What should I do when there is not sufficient evidence that the benefits outweigh the harms?
Clinicians still have to make a decision about offering a preventive service even when the evidence of net benefit or harm is not clear, but this should be a shared decision with their patients. Some factors that may influence their decision can be the probability of harm, the cost, and local and national practice standards. But an overriding factor is often the patient's preference. That's why we must provide patients with evidence-based information about the service, including the potential benefits, the possibility of harm, and the scientific uncertainties for each.
Like you, the Task Force places a high value on informed decision making. In cases where there is insufficient evidence, the decision of whether to screen or not screen should be a decision made by both the patient and the clinician.
That is my opinion. I'm Dr. Michael LeFevre of the US Preventive Services Task Force.
Footnotes
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References
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