Medicare Slams Virtual Colonoscopies
On Thursday of last week, Medicare came out punching saying they have decided not to pay for virtual colonoscopy procedures. This could potentially be a serious setback for a booming industry, especially on the wake of good publicity as doctors had been preaching to people to undergo this non-invasive treatment which is the wisest option for colon cancer screening.
The New York Times reported on Friday that skeptics are denouncing this decision, "It seems to defy logic," said Dr. Perry J. Pickhardt, associate professor of radiology at the University of Wisconsin, who has consulted for some makers of software used to analyze the CT scans. Dr. Pickhardt said the virtual colonoscopy was "better, safer, faster, cheaper" than conventional colonoscopy. Dr. Durado Brooks, director for colorectal and prostate cancer at the American Cancer Society, said the decision would reduce the choices available. "There are certainly some patients who may opt not to be screened because they don't want to have a colonoscopy," Dr. Brooks said."
This may ultimately end up being a bad decision because the best way to prevent colorectal cancer is early detection, and many patients hate the idea of the invasive traditional colonoscopy – which not only requires anesthesia, but also fasting and discomfort.
