Significant Number of Medicare Patients Getting Too-Frequent Colonoscopies
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Rating
Significant Number of Medicare Patients Getting Too-Frequent Colonoscopies
Our Review Summary
Its few shortcomings could have been overcome easily with a little more space:
- mentioning costs
- defining and taking a stab at quantifying harms.
(Also fixing the typo in the final paragraph where colonoscopy was used when they meant colon cancer. We make ’em, too.)
Why This Matters
The story’s interview quotes nailed the issue:
- Study author Goodwin “says the health community has been ‘a little too good in terms of selling the message of screening’ for cancer. ‘There really is an excellent acceptance of the benefits of cancer screening in this country, but I don’t think we’ve educated [people] well enough’ about the possible risks.”
- “Durado Brooks, director of prostate and colorectal cancers at the American Cancer Society… says many physicians worry about missing a potential cancer and underestimate the risks of screening, which are even higher for older people with underlying health problems.”
Criteria
Not Satisfactory
The story didn’t discuss costs. And cost is a significant issue here. The AP story, by comparison, reported that “colonoscopy costs vary widely but typically exceed $1,000.”
Satisfactory
Adequate. The story said that almost 24% of Medicare enrollees in the study were re-examined within seven years “with no clear indication for the early repeated examination.”
Not Satisfactory
One of the weak points in this story – and in many of the stories we saw on this study, frankly – was that, while harms or complications were mentioned, they were not defined nor quantified. What harms? And how often do they occur? This story had a quote that “I don’t think we’ve educated [people] well enough” about the possible risks – but the story itself didn’t do so.
The AP story, by comparison, at least mentioned “risks that occur more often with older patients, including complications from sedation, accidental performation of the colon and bleeding.”
Satisfactory
Adequate job. Nice touch commenting on the geographic variations seen in the Medicare analysis as well.
Satisfactory
The focus of this story was the opposite of disease-mongering.
Satisfactory
The story used an American Cancer Society spokesman as an independent source.
Satisfactory
In the last line, the story at least mentioned other approaches to colon cancer screening.
Not Applicable
The availability of colonoscopies is not in question.
Satisfactory
The relative novelty of this study was made clear in the story.
Satisfactory
It’s clear that the story did not rely solely on a news release.
Total Score: 7 of 9 Satisfactory
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