Virtual Colonoscopy; A Three Part Series - The Patient

Let's switch gears a little from a discussion of Health Care reform, and get to understand Virtual Colonoscopy from the perspective of the customer, or as they are known in the medical world, the patient.

Imagine for a minute that you are in the at-risk population and should be screened for colorectal cancer (for anyone reading this over 50, this probably isn't much of a stretch). Odds are you feel fine other than some of the general ailments that tend to present themselves once you cross the half-century line. You meet with your doctor and he recommends that you get screened for CRC. You think, no big deal, it's just a blood test right? Then your doctor starts describing your options.

Option #1: Optical colonoscopy. Basically what you will have to do is find a GI and make an appointment. You will have to go through this process to cleanse the colon. Not great, but you can do that. Then you have to take a day off work, and find someone to drive you to the doctor. Why do you need someone to drive? Because you are going to be sedated. Once sedated, the doctor is going to spend 30-60 minutes looking for any polyps or lesions. Then you get to go home to recover.

Option #2: Stool DNA Testing. Let's just say you have to send a bowel movement to a facility to be tested.

While there are many other options, they really aren't as effective as you would want.

As you leave the office, you are thinking, "I really feel fine, do I need to go through all of this?". You then tend to put it off because you don't have any symptoms.

This happens more often than not. With all of the different screening options out there, less than 50% of the at-risk poplulation gets screened. What does this mean? Basically that over 50,000 people will die this year of colorectal cancer. By the time you start experiencing systems, it's too late.

However, if the doctor told you that you had another option, a virtual option, what would think? Yeah, you still have to go through the prep, but then you go to the facility, get scanned, and go about your day? Are you now more likely to get screened?

For the patient it's about having choices. Some people will elect the traditional colonoscopy as it is the gold standard, and they want only the best. Some will elect virtual for their various reasons. And some will elect to do nothing. When it comes down to it though, as a patient, I want to have different options. Let me choose which method I want to be screened by.

I think that we will see a significant increase in the number of patients being scanned by simply offering a virtual choice, even if some have to pay for it themselves.