Make colorectal screening part of routine care

The American Cancer Society’s updated guidelines, considered by many in the medical community to be the standard of care, include several colorectal cancer screening options you can offer your patients age 50 and older: Yearly fecal occult blood test (FOBT)* Flexible sigmoidoscopy every five years* Yearly FOBT and flexible sigmoidoscopy every five years (This is preferred over either option alone.)* Double contrast barium enema every five years* Colonoscopy every 10 years * All positive test results should be followed with a colonoscopy.

Recent research shows that more than half of all adults age 50 or older say they leave it to their doctor to make the right decisions about their health. This means it is the responsibility of physicians to make sure their patients fully understand the importance and benefits of colorectal cancer screening.

About 150,000 Americans will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2007 and almost 60,000 will die from it. Educating your patients about the benefits of cancer screening can help to reduce their resistance to it and could save lives.

Here are the major reasons you should talk about colorectal screening with your patients:

1. There is a 90 percent survival rate for colorectal cancer when it is caught early.
2. Routine screening can prevent the disease from occurring.
3. Once the cancer metastasizes, the five-year survival rate is less than 10 percent.
4. At present, only 37 percent of colorectal cancers are detected in the earliest and most treatable stages.

Research also shows that the public is more aware and concerned about colorectal cancer, which should mean they are more open to screenings. Moreover, routine screenings are now covered by most insurance plans, including Medicare.

UPMC Health Plan covers all colorectal cancer screening options. Clinical guidelines for preventive care and colorectal screening can be found under “Provider Information” on our website at upmchealthplan.com.

Colorectal screening is a current HEDIS (Health Plan Employer Data and Information Set) measure and will be part of UPMC Health Plan’s Physician Reporting Package.

For more information about cancer screening, visit www.cancer.org or call 1-800-ACS-2345.

Source: American Cancer Society