colonoscopy

You Won’t Believe What They Found on Colonoscopy Instruments

Posted on 06/12/2013 by | Personal Health and Well-being | Comments

Bulletin Today | Personal HealthIt’s hard enough convincing people to have a colonoscopy because of the laxative and liquids-only prep regimen you need to undergo the day before. Now a study at five hospitals nationwide finds that three out of 20 endoscopes (pictured at right) that are inserted in the rectum to examine the colon for cancer retained bits of “biological dirt” from past patients, putting people at risk for hepatitis and infection. “Three out of 20 is an unexpectedly high number of endoscopes …

Colonoscopies and Seniors: What to Do?

Posted on 03/22/2013 by | Caregiving | Comments

Caregiving | Home & Family | Personal Health | Your LifeFollowing up my last post — Learning to Say No to Doctors — I was interested to read results of a new study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association that reported up to 38 percent of colonoscopies performed on those between 76 to 85 years old (and almost 25 percent of those over 86) were potentially inappropriate under existing guidelines. I take a personal interest in this procedure because colon cancer played a significant role in my …

Can A ‘Death Test’ Predict When You’ll Die?

Posted on 03/6/2013 by | Personal Health and Well-being | Comments

Bulletin Today | Personal HealthIt’s not exactly a crystal ball, but researchers have developed a simple “mortality index” — you might call it a death test — to figure out an older person’s risk of dying in the next 10 years. The 12-question test was developed for doctors to use on their patients age 50 and older. Some of the questions might strike you as the “well, duh” variety — do you have a malignant tumor? chronic lung disease? congestive heart failure? — while …

Free Colonoscopy Coverage Means Polyps, Too

Posted on 02/25/2013 by | Personal Health and Well-being | Comments

Bulletin Today | Personal HealthA routine colonoscopy was supposed to be free under the new health care law, but then insurers began charging if doctors found and removed a polyp during the procedure. That’s a no-no, announced the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) last week, in an effort to clear up confusion about this and other medical tests that should be considered free preventive care, the Associated Press reported. In the notice posted on the HHS website, the agency explained that “polyp …

Insurance Will Have to Pay for More Preventive Care

Posted on 02/20/2013 by | General News | Comments

Bulletin Today | Personal Health | PoliticsBy Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar of The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The new health law requires that most insurance plans cover all costs for preventive care, including colon cancer screening. But it didn’t turn out to be that simple. Many patients ended up with a bill when the doctor performing the colonoscopy removed precancerous growths known as polyps. Why the bill? Because a preventive screening had turned into a procedure. Now the Obama administration is trying to straighten out the confusion: …

Costly Anesthesia: Waking Up To High Colonoscopy Bills

Posted on 05/30/2012 by | Personal Health and Well-being | Comments

Bulletin Today | Personal HealthThe costly issue of receiving anesthesia during a colonoscopy has become a hot topic. While gastroenterologists often let patients decide how much sedation they’d like when they have the procedure, a growing number of patients are discovering that they’ve been put under by an anesthesiologist, or nurse anesthetist, who then charges extra for their services. In some cases, this can leave the patient with unexpected bills that may not be covered or only partly covered by their insurer. As National …

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