Search Results for "colonoscopy"
Celebrity colonoscopy parties – great fun ‘every other year’?
Celebrity news about health care choices is often fraught with misinformation. Celebrity news about screening tests may be the leading category of such misinformation. Titillating tidbits about the stars, but there’s potential harm if the take-home message to readers is “Gee, maybe you should do what these smart, rich people are doing.” Enter People magazine, […]
‘OK to wait’ or ‘Delay at your own risk?’ Headspinning headlines on same colonoscopy study
Headline messages about new studies often present conflicting–even polar opposite–takeaway messages about the research. Consider these clashing messages out yesterday from HealthDay and Reuters Health about the same study: If you drill down into each story you’ll find basically the same description of the results: Waiting up to 10 months after a positive stool test […]
Otherwise strong release on colonoscopy prep omits the usual: cost, harms and alternatives
This release covered most of the bases well but would have been stronger with a better discussion of side effects and a cost estimate.
Novel 'patient-friendly' colonoscopy prep shows excellent efficacy and safety
As radiologists push for “virtual” colonoscopy coverage, risk of misleading readers is real
The American College of Radiology (ACR), together with the Colon Cancer Alliance and other advocacy groups, want you to know that they’re urging Medicare to cover seniors for “virtual” colonoscopy screening (also known as CT colonography). Virtual colonoscopy is widely touted as an image-guided, less-invasive alternative to the standard colonoscopies that we’re all familiar with. […]
High score for HealthDay coverage of “scoring system” for colonoscopy candidates
Strong effort featuring two outside perspectives. Looking at alternatives would have opened up another fruitful avenue of inquiry for the coverage.
'Scoring System' May Spot Those in Greatest Need of Colonoscopy; But one expert cautions that even 'low risk' patients can still develop suspicious polyps
Report on “immersive” colonoscopy features lots of flash, but few evidence-supported facts
With sweeping, unsupported statements about the benefits of 3-D colonoscopies, this report reads more like a news release from a device company rather than an objective piece of health journalism.
A virtual "walk" through the colon could detect cancer earlier
False claims about colonoscopy in response to NYT story
The following is a guest post by Dr. Richard Hoffman, one of our expert editors on HealthNewsReview.org. ————————– The New York Times story, “The $2.7 Trillion Medical Bill: Colonoscopies Explain Why U.S. Leads the World in Health Expenditures,” about how the exorbitant costs associated with colonoscopy contribute to the high costs of American medicine has […]
6/2/2013Colonoscopy: case study in 1st of NYT series on how economic incentives raise health care costs
Noteworthy from the New York Times: “The $2.7 Trillion Medical Bill: Colonoscopies Explain Why U.S. Leads the World in Health Expenditures.” Key excerpt: “While several cheaper and less invasive tests to screen for colon cancer are recommended as equally effective by the federal government’s expert panel on preventive care — and are commonly used in […]
4/21/2013Star Tribune tries to be cute about colonoscopy, misses boat on alternatives
We often write about incomplete, imbalanced stories we see about screening tests. My local paper, the Star Tribune, published a doozie this weekend. The online story headline was: Baby boomers embracing colonoscopies In print, it was: Look At The Upside The subhead was the same in either format: “From highway billboards to celebrities, everyone is […]
2 1/14/2013Colonoscopy, conflicts of interest, and cautionary tales
Dr. Michael Kirsch, who claims that “when I’m not writing, I’m performing colonoscopies, has published a blog post, “Is Colonoscopy the Best Colon Cancer Screening Test?” It’s an excellent piece, which I encourage you to read in its entirety. It touches on medical conflicts of interest, comparative effectiveness research, the medical arms race, medical marketing […]
6 11/29/2012One woman’s search for a “good” colonoscopy
On WBUR Boston’s Healthcare $avvy: The Health Care Consumer Experience website, Martha Bebinger is determined to be more informed before she goes in for her second colonoscopy (the other one was 10 or so years ago). So she’s posted a list of questions she wants answered and she’s asking for suggestions for amendments to the […]
11/5/2012Is one colonoscopy enough for a lifetime?
I don’t know it it’s Sandy fatigue or election angst, but it’s surprising to me that more than 90 minutes have passed since an embargo lifted on this paper and few news organizations have reported on it – “Rescreening of Persons With a Negative Colonoscopy Result.” Here’s the paper’s conclusion: “Compared with the currently recommended […]
Prep-free virtual colonoscopy could be as effective as scope procedure
This Boston Globe blog post gave its audience a more thorough understanding of an emerging approach to virtual colonoscopy than the Wall Street Journal.
Prep-free virtual colonoscopy could be as effective as scope procedure
Alternatives to colonoscopy
Elsewhere on the site this week, we reviewed several news stories about claims for a new “laxative-free colonoscopy.” Here’s more on alternatives to traditional colonoscopy in a guest post by Harold DeMonaco, MS – one of our expert editors on HealthNewsReview.org but also Director of the Innovation Support Center at the Massachusetts General Hospital. —————————————————————————– […]
3/14/2011Questioning colonoscopy evidence
Breast cancer expert Dr. Susan Love wrote on her Facebook page last week: “Had my routine colonoscopy today…did you know that there is no study showing that screening colonoscopy is better than sigmoidoscopy in reducing deaths from colon cancer…. and yet the beat goes on.” She also linked to a public radio Marketplace piece, “Should […]
