The answers to these questions should reassure you that you are seeing a trained endoscopist who will safely and effectively perform your colonoscopy.
- Have you had formal training in endoscopy in a Gastroenterology fellowship or surgical residency? If so, did you perform at least 140 colonoscopies during your training?
- Do you perform more than 100 colonoscopies annually?
- When performing a colonoscopy, is your rate of cecal (total colon) intubation greater than 90%?
- For colonoscopy, do you monitor adenoma detection rate, and is your adenoma detection rate at least 30% for men and 20% for women?
- If you do not monitor adenoma detection rate, do you measure and track withdrawal time of the endoscope from the cecum, and if so, does it average greater than 6 minutes?
- Do you monitor and track the effectiveness of colonoscopy preparation?
- Do you assess patients for pre-procedure anesthesia risk using the American Society of Anesthesia (ASA) classification?
- Do you provide written discharge instructions and do you have 24-hour emergency assistance for questions or problems after a procedure?
- Do you track and report immediate complications if they occur after a procedure?
- Does your endoscopic facility have dedicated reprocessing (disinfection) personnel and equipment? Are the reprocessing personnel assessed on a regular basis for ongoing competency?