Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/190596
AN OPEN LETTER TO THE GI COMMUNITY We're Setting the Record Straight on Colonoscopy It has been a tough summer for colonoscopy. Reports in the New York Times, USA Today, Washington Post and a study in JAMA Internal Medicine have challenged how colonoscopy is billed to patients and the physician time involved in these procedures. The gastroenterology societies are educating policymakers and patients that colonoscopy is a good deal and that gastroenterologists provide lifesaving care with integrity. • Thanks to screening, fewer people than ever before are developing or dying from colorectal cancer. Recent publications continue to demonstrate the sustained benefits of a colonoscopy. The GI community is proud of our role in this public health success story. • Medicare pays gastroenterologists only $220 on average for our time, expertise and clinical care. That is certainly not excessive for a complex and invasive procedure that prevents cancer and saves lives. Colonoscopy can prevent many cancers, thereby avoiding the high cost of cancer care in many cases. • Primary care physicians question the gap between payment for cognitive and procedural services, such as colonoscopy. As specialists who provide valuable cognitive services, we recognize that these services may well be underpaid. The economics of health care in the U.S. are highly complex with many factors driving costs, but payment to gastroenterologists for colonoscopy is not one of them. As gastroenterologists, we know firsthand that colonoscopy is one of the most effective cancer prevention tools in clinical medicine, preventing the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in this country. WORKING TOGETHER The gastroenterology societies are committed to working together to improve the quality and affordability of health care for all Americans. We support the three-part aim of the National Quality Strategy: better care, affordable care, and healthy people and communities. There are no easy solutions to the rising costs of medical care in the U.S. Our first priority is providing safe, high-quality care to our patients. 525-325COM_13-7