Preventing Colorectal Cancer Publishes Issue Brief Focusing on the Need for Pricing Transparency

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Annapolis, MD | PRWeb | November 30, 2012 – Preventing Colorectal Cancer (PCC) has released the fourth issue brief in a series designed to highlight the challenges and opportunities that exist with increasing the screening rates for colorectal cancer (CRC) in the United States.  Titled, Why We Need Pricing Transparency, the brief provides an overview of the clinical and financial benefits of screening colonoscopies as a reliable screening tool to reduce the incidence of colon cancer.

PCC launched the series in an effort to educate key stakeholders on the importance of increasing screening rates among the population.  For example, physicians, patients, payors, public policy experts, and others are constantly weighing the clinical efficacy of a procedure or a treatment with the cost. In some cases where significant cost results in little benefit, hard decisions regarding treatment coverage must be made. How this pertains to colonoscopy screening presents opportunities and challenges for all parties involved.

Previous issue briefs in the series can be found here. Topics include:

  • Colonoscopies Prevent Colon Cancer
  • Preventing Colorectal Cancer: The Benefit of Propofol
  • Health Insurers Should Cover Propofol Sedation

Future briefs will highlight effective strategies for increasing screening guideline adherence, sustaining and improving screening results, and the impact of health care reform and insurance changes.

“A cancer prevented is better than a cancer cured,” says PCC Executive Director Randall H.H. Madry. “The opportunity to remove polyps before they become cancerous exists when patients receive the ‘gold standard’ screening, colonoscopy.  Other screening options find polyps after they’ve become cancerous or identify polyps without simultaneously removing them.”

PCC hopes the new issue brief series will save lives by providing the information and guidance needed to educate the public, policymakers and other key stakeholders regarding the obstacles to screening that many patients face.

The full series of briefs will cover the following:

  • Screening as a prevention technique
  • Sedation options
  • Why the issue of transparency in medical pricing matters so much to CRC screening
  • Safety concerns
  • Summarizing the impact of health care reform and insurance changes
  • Sustaining and improving screening rates

Those interested may visit www.preventingcolorectalcancer.org  to sign up to receive the issue briefs as they become available via email.  The website also contains other valuable resources and information on CRC and prevention efforts.

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About Preventing Colorectal Cancer (www.preventingcolorectalcancer.org)

Headquartered in Annapolis, MD, Preventing Colorectal Cancer (PCC) preserves the tradition of safe, comfortable and quality-based medicine. PCC is a not-for-profit 501(c) 6 advocacy organization with the primary mission to educate both public and private stakeholders about the opportunities to reduce the incidence of colorectal cancer through promoting effective screening, prevention and care options for patients. Membership is open to all individuals and groups.

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