National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, the month of March, is almost over - but that doesn't mean that the colorectal cancer awareness messages to your patients should stop until next year. Remind patients who have taken home a fecal occult blood test kit to use it. Follow up with patients on all screening results, even negative ones - everyone likes to hear good news. Remember, the appropriate follow-up for a positive fecal occult blood test result is a colonoscopy, not another fecal occult blood test.
Guidelines to Guide Next Steps When Polyps Are Found: A recent survey by the National Cancer Institute found that gastroenterologists and surgeons are performing surveillance colonoscopies at more frequent intervals than those recommended by evidence-based guidelines. For example, 24% of gastroenterologists and 54% of surgeons recommended a colonoscopy, either alone or with another procedure, at least every five years after the identification of a small, benign, hyperplastic polyp. Medical guidelines do not recommend any follow-up colonoscopy for hyperplastic polyps because their presence has not been shown to increase the risk of colorectal cancer. Review the evidence-based Colorectal Cancer Screening and Surveillance Guidelines<http://www.cancer.org/Healthy/InformationforHealthCareProfessionals/ColonMDClinicansInformationSource/ColorectalCancerScreeningandSurveillanceGuidelines/index> from the American Cancer Society. For More Information for Healthcare Providers: * MLN Guide to Medicare Preventive Services for Healthcare Professionals<http://www.CMS.gov/MLNProducts/downloads/mps_guide_web-061305.pdf> (see Chapter 11) * MLN Preventive Services Educational Products webpage<http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MLNProducts/35_PreventiveServices.asp> * MLN Cancer Screenings Brochure<http://www.cms.gov/MLNProducts/downloads/Cancer_Screening.pdf> * MLN Quick Reference Information: Medicare Preventive Services<http://www.cms.gov/MLNProducts/downloads/MPS_QuickReferenceChart_1.pdf> * National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable<http://nccrt.org/> * National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month website<http://preventcancer.org/prevention/preventable-cancers/colorectal-cancer/> * The National Cancer Institute website<http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/colon-and-rectal> Thank you for helping CMS spread the word regarding the importance of colorectal cancer screening. ________________________________ CMS.gov Website Upgrade: Please take note that CMS is in the process of making upgrades to the www.CMS.gov<http://www.CMS.gov> website. If you encounter problems accessing information while on the site, please refresh the page or check back later. We appreciate your understanding and apologize for any inconvenience. ________________________________ It's Not too Late to Give and Get the Flu Vaccine. Take advantage of each office visit and protect your patients against the seasonal flu. Medicare will continue to pay for the seasonal flu vaccine and its administration for all Medicare beneficiaries through the entire flu season. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also recommends that patients, healthcare workers and caregivers be vaccinated against the seasonal flu. Protect your patients. Protect your family. Protect yourself. Get the Flu Vaccine-Not the Flu. Remember - The flu vaccine plus its administration are covered Part B benefits. CMS has posted the 2011-2012 seasonal flu vaccine payment limits at http://www.CMS.gov/McrPartBDrugAvgSalesPrice/10_VaccinesPricing.asp. Note that the flu vaccine is NOT a Part D-covered drug. For more information on coverage and billing of the flu vaccine and its administration, as well as related educational provider resources, visit http://www.CMS.gov/MLNProducts/35_PreventiveServices.asp and http://www.cms.gov/immunizations. ________________________________ Note: If you have problems accessing any hyperlink in this message, please copy and paste the URL into your Internet browser. If you know someone who would like to subscribe to a Medicare Fee-For-Service (FFS) provider listserv, go to (http://www.cms.gov/prospmedicarefeesvcpmtgen/downloads/Provider_Listservs.pdf). If you would like to unsubscribe from a specific provider listserv, please go to (https://list.nih.gov/cgi-bin/wa.exe?INDEX) to unsubscribe or to leave the appropriate listserv. Please DO NOT respond to this email. This email is a service of CMS and routed through an electronic mail server to communicate Medicare policy and operational changes and/or updates. Responses to this email are not routed to CMS personnel. Inquiries may be sent by going to (http://www.cms.gov/ContactCMS). Thank you.
