Obama's Virtual Colonoscopy Sets Off Real-World Turf War Of Specialty Groups

From The Cancer Letter, March 5, 2010:

President Barack Obama’s decision to undergo a virtual colonoscopy has triggered an explosion of indignation from two professional societies that represent physicians who perform colorectal cancer screening.

On March 1, the day after the details of Obama’s medical exam were released, the American College of Gastroenterology fired off a letter to the White House objecting to the president’s decision to forego the modality that, the society maintains, represents the gold standard in screening.

An uninitiated observer might have thought that radiologists would rejoice over the President’s decision to go with the CT procedure. They did not. The American College of Radiology issued a statement pointing out that the procedure Obama selected would be unavailable to the elderly receiving Medicare benefits and many people whose commercial insurance doesn’t cover the CT procedure.

The turf war is illustrative of incongruity of guidelines and the role professional societies play in promulgating them, observers say.

For the rest of the story, click on The Cancer Letter Archive at left to read the March 5, 2010, issue (subscription or day pass required).


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tags: White House|  cancer screening