Colonoscopy is one of the most common outpatient procedures. A study published in the journal Gastroenterology set out to understand how colonoscopy quality varies between outpatient facilities.
Here are five things to know about the study.
1. The study authors examined a 20 percent sample of 201 Medicare outpatient colonoscopy claims, a sample representing 331,880 colonoscopies done at 8,140 facilities.
2. The researchers established a logistic regression model to estimate the risk of unplanned hospital visit within seven days of colonoscopy.
3. The colonoscopies included in the study were followed by 5,412 unplanned hospital visits within seven days. The most common reasons for an unplanned hospital visit were abdominal pain, hemorrhage and perforation.
4. The risk for unplanned hospital admission within seven days of colonoscopy was comparable between ASCs and hospital outpatient departments (10.2 per 1,000 colonoscopies).
5. The authors concluded the risk-adjusted measure of outpatient colonoscopy quality developed for the study could be used to help patients make informed choices and support quality improvement efforts.