The Gastroenterology Practice Management Group recently published a review of adenoma detection rates from 370 gastroenterologists over a six-year period in the journal Gastrointestinal Endoscopy. Here are five things to know about the study and its results.
1. The study included 368,157 colonoscopies performed across 11 practice sites from 2007 to 2012.
2. The researchers used the number of colonoscopy with an adenomatous polyp divided by the total number of colonoscopies (ADR-T), inclusive of indication and patient sex, as the study's primary outcome measurement.
3. Three practice sites were significantly above ADR-T and two practice sites were significantly below ADR-T. The high-performing sites demonstrated a 9 percent higher ADR-T that the sites in the study's lowest quartile.
4. Two practice sites, underperforming and average respectively, improved ADR-T an average of 0.5 percent per quarter.
5. The researchers concluded that, due to the few practices sites exhibiting above average ADR-T performance, further research into physician incentives and organizational processes was merited. If those elements were to be identified, researchers may be able to suggest a set of guidelines designed to help practices improve and sustain high-quality colonoscopy.
Click here to view the full study.