Strategies | Business strategy and the bottom line |
Screening Time
Communicating the need for screenings this Colon Cancer Awareness Month By Deven Stopa
Why Is There a Decrease in Screenings? Looking at the numbers, it’s clear that the COVID-19 pandemic had an obvious effect on the reduction in GI procedure volume in 2020. But to increase your procedure volume and get back to pre-pandemic numbers, the solutions are complex. There are only two ways to have missed so many appointments and procedures: cancellations initiated by physicians in order to adhere to certain guidelines at the time or cancellations initiated by patients. Assuming all physician-initiated cancellations are rescheduled, you’ll
10 PE GI Journal March 2021
need to look at the root of patient cancellations—three different types of patient concerns: 1. Fear of COVID-19: Patients and/or their loved ones may be part of a more vulnerable population taking extra precautions. 2. Financial Woes: Patients are experiencing loss of jobs, and in turn health insurance, at staggering rates. In situations where patients have retained health coverage, pocket money for co-pays may be dwindling, meaning their elective appointments and procedures are not a financial priority. 3. Feeling Overwhelmed: Even if patients are not highly affected by health or financial worries, they are certainly feeling overwhelmed generally—who isn’t? Appointments may be lost in the shuffle of a pandemic, remote working and schooling, and life. Regain their attention and emphasize the simplicity and benefits of maintaining GI health. There are multiple ways to address these patient concerns and get them back in for their appointments and procedures. TIP #1
Over-Explain
While you and your staff have always explained instructions and managed patient expectations, now is the time to over-explain. You do not want to leave room for any patient worries that may cause them to think twice about coming in for their visit.
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astroenterologists have known since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic that there is a decrease in routine colon cancer screenings and other elective GI appointments. Research by komodohealth, however, has provided striking statistics showing just how serious patients choosing to forgo or delay their preventative care during the height of the pandemic is: • Screenings dropped by roughly 90% • Colorectal cancer diagnoses dropped by over 30% • 18,000-plus people are now at risk of missed or delayed diagnoses for colorectal cancer, the only preventable cancer that has a 90% survival rate when caught early
