Quality performance measure that tracks rates of follow-up within six months of abnormal SBT result is feasible, valid, reliable<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter<\/b><\/p>\n
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WEDNESDAY, March 27, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Fewer than half of adults have a follow-up colonoscopy within six months following an abnormal stool-based screening test (SBT) for colorectal cancer (CRC), according to a study published online March 25 in JAMA Network Open<\/em>.<\/p>\n Elizabeth L. Ciemins, Ph.D., M.P.H., from the American Medical Group Association in Alexandria, Virginia, and colleagues conducted a retrospective quality improvement study to develop and test a quality performance measure for follow-up colonoscopy within six months of an abnormal result of an SBT for CRC. To determine follow-up colonoscopy rates within six months in a database study, adults from 38 health care organizations (HCOs) aged 50 to 75 years who completed an initial CRC SBT with an abnormal result were observed.<\/p>\n The researchers found that 47.9 percent of the 20,581 adults in 38 health systems had a follow-up colonoscopy following an abnormal SBT result for CRC within six months. Significant variation was seen between HCOs. Follow-up colonoscopy was received by significantly fewer Black patients (37.1 percent) and patients with Medicare or Medicaid insurance (49.2 and 39.2 percent, respectively). A quality performance measure that tracks rates of follow-up within six months of an abnormal SBT result was feasible, valid, and reliable; the median reliability statistic was 94.5 percent between HCOs.<\/p>\n “Use of SBTs may increase overall screening rates, but abnormal results must be followed up with a colonoscopy to diagnose CRC — ideally as soon as possible, but definitely within the six months after an abnormal test result,” the authors write.<\/p>\n One author disclosed ties to Exact Sciences.<\/p>\n Abstract\/Full Text<\/a><\/p>\n