Those well visits to your doctor might feel like a waste of time, but before you cancel your annual check-up because you feel fit as a fiddle, think again. Studies show that if you visit your doctor regularly, you are more likely to stay healthy for many reasons. People who visit primary care physicians are more likely to get colon screenings and follow up on abnormal stool blood tests.
Although colon cancer is the third-leading cause of cancer death, colon cancer screening rates are only half of what they should be. Many health systems are trying a new approach to colon cancer screening: a mail-in home stool blood test that does not require a visit to the doctor. While this initiative may help increase screening rates for the short-term, researchers and doctors are finding that these mail-in stool blood tests are not as effective as a screening test that is accompanied by a face-to-face appointment with a primary care physician.
Dr. Ethan Halm, Director of UT Southwestern's Center for Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, and a member of the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, and a team of researchers studied almost 1 million individuals between 50 and 74 years of age from separate health care systems in the United States.
After reviewing medical records of 968,072 patients who were not current with colon screenings. Three of the four health care systems had screening outreach programs that mailed FIT kits to patients and did not require a visit to their doctor. The team found that patients who visited their primary care physician were 30 percent more likely to schedule a follow-up colonoscopy after a positive stool test.
Past research shows that non-invasive tests like fecal occult blood tests (FOBT) and fecal immunochemical tests (FIT) are helpful as an initial step to colon cancer prevention. Many patients who would not undergo a colonoscopy are willing to complete a stool blood test because they are quick to complete, easy to mail, and relatively inexpensive. However, stool blood tests are only effective when patients with a positive result schedule a follow-up colonoscopy. Dr. Halm’s research shows that regular visits to primary care providers play a key role in patients scheduling follow-up diagnostic procedures (Source: Science Daily).
"These findings help underscore the continued importance and effectiveness of visits with primary care physicians in a brave new world of virtual care and population health outreach," said Dr. Halm. "This result is important because screening for colon cancer can result in an early diagnosis and improved survival."
