COVID-19 severely affected colonoscopies because of the high risk of transmission, but Pittsburgh-based Allegheny Health Network said screening numbers were beginning to rebound, the Observer-Reporter reports.
What you should know:
1. AHN said colonoscopy volume dropped by 98.8 percent in mid-April compared to the same time period in 2019.
2. Screenings increased in May and June, but colonoscopies were still down 55.4 percent at the end of June compared to the same time period in 2019.
3. Katie Farah, MD, chief quality officer for AHN's division of gastroenterology, said, "We are playing catch-up across the nation." The health system began performing colonoscopies on Saturdays to catch up to all the delayed screenings.
4. AHN implemented the "COLOVID-19" initiative to ensure it captures all patients lost in the lockdown.