Making those New Year’s Resolutions?
You can do a lot to prevent colon and rectal cancer this year . . . and in the future.
Number One Resolution — Be screened for colorectal cancer if you are 50 or over, earlier if you are at higher risk. Read the rest of this entry »
A patient navigator who speaks the patient’s language and has time to spend answering questions and removing barriers makes a difference in whether that patient will get colorectal screening.
A study in Boston randomly assigned community patient navigators to half of a diverse group of low-income patients who were behind in colorectal cancer screening. Compared to patients who received usual health care, patients who got help from a patient navigator were more likely to complete screening, have a colonoscopy, and have polyps detected and removed. Read the rest of this entry »
After a normal colonoscopy when no polyps are found, guidelines call for a repeat test in 10 years.
However, almost half of Medicare patients with a negative colonoscopy got another exam within 7 years, and for one in four there was no clear evidence that they needed one.
Because colonoscopies have real risks and are expensive, over-testing can be both dangerous and costly. Given limited numbers of physicians who do colonoscopies, unecessary procedures add to long waiting lists for screening and for necessary follow-up exams.
Although Medicare regulations call for reimbursement only after 10 years in cases where the first procedure didn’t find a problem, payments are being made for earlier exams. In fact, Medicare denied payment for only 2 percent of colonoscopies for which there was no clear indication of need. Read the rest of this entry »
Colorectal cancer screening rates for colorectal cancer improved between 2000 and 2008 for white, black and Asian-Americans aged 50 and over—but barely improved for Hispanics and actually worsed for American Indians and Alaska Natives.
The latest statistics, just reported by the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality on March 23, found that:
Among people without health insurance, screening rates were significantly lower in all ethnic groups:
In summary, even among those with insurance, only half—and often far fewer—people over age 50 are getting even one screening. Among the uninsured, screening is just not being done for a cancer that can be prevented or cured if caught early.
Source: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2010 National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Reports
As the Australian government considers the future of its National Bowel Cancer Screening Program, Australian and US researchers provide compelling evidence of the cost-effectiveness of expanding the national screening program.
Australia has one of the highest colorectal cancer (CRC) mortality rates in the world. Its current screening program (costing about $29 million a year) provides a one-time immunochemical fecal test (iFOBT) for people aged 50, 55, and 65 years. Program funding expires in mid-2011.
A study funded by the Australian government and the US National Cancer Institute, published in the Feb. 21 Medical Journal of Australia, found that expanding the program to screen all 5 million Australians aged 50 -74 years every two years by iFOBT could end up costing only about $50 million more a year, while saving 300 to 500 lives every year.
