While it is known that patients with few primary care doctor's office visits are less likely to receive colorectal cancer screening, new research indicates that even patients who see their physicians regularly also do not receive screening.
The study, which appears in the February issue of Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention , was conducted by a team of researchers at UC Davis, the University of Washington and Group Health Cooperative in Seattle.
"Colorectal cancer screening is not on the primary care agenda as much as it should be," said lead author Joshua Fenton, assistant professor of family and community medicine at UC Davis. "Opportunities are being missed."
Fenton and his colleagues reviewed records of nearly 50,000 men and women aged 50 to 78 who were eligible for colorectal cancer screening in 2002 and 2003 and enrolled in Group Health Cooperative - a large, prepaid, nonprofit health plan that coordinates care and coverage in Washington state.
Most screening tests are ordered by primary care physicians, so the investigators were not surprised to find that patients with very few primary doctor's office visits received little or no colorectal cancer screening. The team was more surprised, however, to discover that more than half of patients with frequent primary care visits - four or more per year - also did not get screened.
"Merely encouraging people to see their doctors won't increase screening," said Fenton. "Screening saves lives. We have to do more to make sure that eligible patients are identified during primary care visits and counseled about options."