Dear AuntMinnie Insider,
What radiologists want is broad screening coverage for virtual colonoscopy in the U.S. What they're getting is something less -- a patchwork of approved diagnostic VC indications for symptomatic patients on a region-by-region basis, authorized by local Medicare payors.
But it is progress of sorts, and according to radiologists that AuntMinnie.com spoke to, VC practitioners' efforts are bringing much-needed diagnostic indications into clinical practice. Upcoming changes in the Midwestern region rules, for example, will allow doctors to recommend virtual colonoscopy for their symptomatic patients on anticoagulant therapy, for whom conventional colonoscopy could be dangerous.
Amid signs that national organizations are warming to the idea of VC for some applications, representatives of the American Cancer Society, American College of Radiology, and American College of Gastroenterology will meet in Washington, DC, next month to discuss colorectal cancer screening exams and options.
Not everyone is ready for widespread VC, however. A recent review of the technique by leading gastroenterologists found little to recommend VC over conventional colonoscopy at this time, and some radiologists were disappointed but not surprised. Get the lowdown in this issue's Insider Exclusive article, published for Virtual Colonoscopy Insider subscribers days before anyone else can read it.
Also featured in the Virtual Colonoscopy Digital Community, researchers in Japan are building an all-in-one virtual colonoscopy tool that aims to combine several advanced features into a single, intuitive exam. Click here to read about the Navi-CAD.
But if you're interested in performing VC, no all-in-one exam tool can replace the 7th International Symposium on Virtual Colonoscopy, coming up October 16-18 in Boston. Click here for more details.
