The abstract is read at the publisher; the summary is JClub's.
In dually enrolled male veterans aged 80+ in VA primary care, PSA testing and prostate biopsy rates were lower than fee-for-service Medicare (187.9 vs 267.9; IRR 0.70).
- Why it matters: Routine PSA screening can be low-value when life expectancy is limited, but VA testing intensity has not been benchmarked against non-VA primary care.
- What they did: A retrospective cohort of 1.41 million male veterans (2004–2023) used linked national VA-Medicare data, estimating age- and life-expectancy–stratified incidence rate ratios with covariate-adjusted Poisson regression.
- The result: Among men with fewer than 5 years predicted life expectancy, VA PSA testing was lower (IRR 0.84), and age/life-expectancy differences persisted in sensitivity analyses, implying closer alignment with likelihood of benefit.
The findingWhy it mattersWhat they didThe result
AI summary of the abstract · may contain errors · not medical advice · read the paper.