RALEIGH, N.C., Oct. 8 (UPI) -- U.S. medical scientists say they have determined how physicians can lower their costs and reduce waiting times for patients undergoing colonoscopies.
Colorectal cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States, but the disease can be managed with early screening using a procedure called a colonoscopy.
Now researchers from North Carolina State University, The Mayo Clinic and the University of Massachusetts-Amherst say they've created a tool to help colonoscopy facilities operate more efficiently.
The researchers said they devised a computer model that helps managers of colonoscopy facilities, such as hospitals and clinics, find the best combination of physicians, staff, rooms and equipment.
"Colonoscopy facility managers can try out different ideas in the model to see how they work before trying them in the real world -- which is an expensive place to experiment," said North Carolina State Assistant Professor Brian Denton, co-author of the study. "For example, a manager could see whether it is worthwhile to hire another endoscopist who can perform colonoscopies, hire another nurse or add another recovery bed for the facility."
The researchers, who included Bjorn Berg of North Carolina State, Hari Balasubramanian of UMass, and Heidi Nelson, Keith Lindor, Ahmed Rahman and Angela Bailey of The Mayo Clinic, published the results of their study online Sept. 22 ahead of print in the journal Medical Decision Making.
