WHAT PHYSICIANS ARE SAYING:
"It's a screening test that is known to detect cancer and can save lives."
Dr. Jeff Weisz, former Executive Medical Director at Kaiser Permanente Southern California and Kaiser Permanente Northwest, shares his experience using FIT, fecal immunochemical test
PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIAN
Offer OC-Auto® to your patients to achieve higher screening rates and better results.
According to an expert panel from the National Institute of Health, primary care physicians are faced with a large list of preventative services they are expected to deliver. It is crucial to identify the most effective and efficient ways to deliver the recommended screening tests for eligible adults.
GASTROENTEROLOGIST
Offer OC-Auto® in your practice and get your patients screened.
The ACG supports the division of screening tests into cancer prevention and cancer detection tests and recommends the preferred cancer prevention test-colonoscopy every 10 years. The preferred cancer detection test is an annual fecal immunochemical test (FIT) to detect occult bleeding. *American Cancer Society (www.cancer.org)
It is recognized that colonoscopy is not available in all medical settings because of space and economic limitations. Beyond this, many patients eligible for colonoscopy are unwilling to undergo the procedure. OC FIT is a good alternative.
OBSTETRICIAN / GYNECOLOGIST
Nearly half the people who should be screened for colorectal cancer are not, despite increased public awareness efforts. As the nation's number 2 cancer killer, colorectal cancer takes more women's lives than breast cancer per year. Offer FIT in your practice as an important addition to your screening efforts..
WHAT EXPERTS ARE SAYING:
The American Cancer Society (ACS) recommends screening for colorectal cancer beginning at age 45. The ACS recommends that adults aged 45 years and older with an average risk of CRC undergo regular screening with either a high-sensitivity stool-based test or a structural (visual) examination, depending on patient preference and test availability. Read more...
The American Cancer Society (ACS)
WHY FIT?
The immunochemical screening method is the standard of care worldwide.
Fecal immunochemical test (FIT), also traditionally called fecal occult blood test), replaces the Guaiac card test. FIT does not have dietary or vitamin C restrictions. Patients are able to perform sample collection easily at home, with little disruption to their daily routine. Ease of use results in increased patient compliance.
BETTER OUTCOMES
FIT identifies patients for which the presence of fecal occult blood in stool is associated with gastrointestinal disease. FIT testing has improved sensitivity and specificity over the Guaiac method. This improvement directs more of the "right" patients to colonoscopy, leading to the earlier detection of polyps and colorectal cancer. Published literature has reported that there can be as much as a 30% improvement in detecting early-stage cancer when incorporated into an organized screening program (American Cancer Society states 39% of colorectal cancers are detected in the early stage. *American Cancer Society (www.cancer.org)
BETTER ECONOMICS
FIT is reimbursed by all major insurance companies and Medicare; it reduces long-term treatment costs, increases practice revenue and saves the healthcare system billions per year.
The healthcare system as a whole saves $15 billion annually treating CRC patients at an early stage.