CT colonography is a cost-effective colorectal cancer screening option for the Medicare population and will likely reduce Medicare expenditures for CRC screening, according to a study published in Abdominal Imaging.
Here are three things to know:
1. The authors used Medicare claims data, fee schedules, established protocols and other sources to estimate CT colonography and optical colonoscopy per-screen costs.
2. The study found that CT colonography is 29 percent less expensive than optical colonoscopy for the Medicare population in the base scenario.
3. However, the CT colonography cost advantage is increased or reduced under alternative scenarios, it is always positive.