We are excited to share with you our research study on "The quality of screening colonoscopies in an office-based endoscopy clinic" - the first-ever, peer-reviewed outpatient colonoscopy study done in Canada. (Printed in the January 2009 edition of the Canadian Journal of Gastroenterology).
The study (based on data from our first 17 months of operation) was conducted in order to prove that colonoscopies done outside of hospitals have the potential to meet or exceed the standards set by Cancer Care Ontario. Our theory was proven conclusively: the highest standards can be exceeded in a non-hospital setting when the procedure is conducted by qualified gastroenterologists.
Our hope, is that the results of the study will set a standard for transparency for all centers, whether in-hospital or out of hospital that perform screening colonoscopies, and will encourage the continued quality assurance of colonoscopies, through proven quality measures such as the photo documentation of complete colonoscopies.
Previous studies have shown that the full colon is examined in 75% of colonoscopies done outside of a hospital and 87% of the time when performed in a hospital in Ontario . At the Oakville Endoscopy Centre (OEC) the full colon is seen in 99% of cases, which is widely recognized to be an excellent result. The only other study to look at colonoscopy complications in Canada revealed 4 times the numbers of perforations at a well respected university hospital relative to the Oakville Endoscopy Centre .
1.Shah HA, Paszat LF, Saskin R, Stukel TA, Rabeneck L. Factors associated with incomplete colonoscopy: A population-based study. Gastroenterology 2007; 132: 96-102, 2297-2303.
2. Misra T, Lalor E, Fedorak RN. Endoscopic perforation rates at a Canadian university teaching hospital. Can J Gastroenterol 2004; 18 (4): 221-226.
The study (based on data from our first 17 months of operation) was conducted in order to prove that colonoscopies done outside of hospitals have the potential to meet or exceed the standards set by Cancer Care Ontario. Our theory was proven conclusively: the highest standards can be exceeded in a non-hospital setting when the procedure is conducted by qualified gastroenterologists.
Our hope, is that the results of the study will set a standard for transparency for all centers, whether in-hospital or out of hospital that perform screening colonoscopies, and will encourage the continued quality assurance of colonoscopies, through proven quality measures such as the photo documentation of complete colonoscopies.
Previous studies have shown that the full colon is examined in 75% of colonoscopies done outside of a hospital and 87% of the time when performed in a hospital in Ontario . At the Oakville Endoscopy Centre (OEC) the full colon is seen in 99% of cases, which is widely recognized to be an excellent result. The only other study to look at colonoscopy complications in Canada revealed 4 times the numbers of perforations at a well respected university hospital relative to the Oakville Endoscopy Centre .
1.Shah HA, Paszat LF, Saskin R, Stukel TA, Rabeneck L. Factors associated with incomplete colonoscopy: A population-based study. Gastroenterology 2007; 132: 96-102, 2297-2303.
2. Misra T, Lalor E, Fedorak RN. Endoscopic perforation rates at a Canadian university teaching hospital. Can J Gastroenterol 2004; 18 (4): 221-226.