A Comparison of the Australian Colonoscopy Care Standards to Current Clinical Practice

ABSTRACT Introduction Colonoscopy remains the gold standard for colorectal cancer screening and surveillance. The Colonoscopy Clinical Care Standards were introduced by the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Healthcare to provide a national consensus on the benchmarks required for colono...

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Main Authors: Simona Sarmiento, Rikvin Singh, Jeremy Ripper, Kavitha Subramaniam
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2025-07-01
Series:Health Science Reports
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1002/hsr2.71011
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author Simona Sarmiento
Rikvin Singh
Jeremy Ripper
Kavitha Subramaniam
author_facet Simona Sarmiento
Rikvin Singh
Jeremy Ripper
Kavitha Subramaniam
author_sort Simona Sarmiento
collection DOAJ
description ABSTRACT Introduction Colonoscopy remains the gold standard for colorectal cancer screening and surveillance. The Colonoscopy Clinical Care Standards were introduced by the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Healthcare to provide a national consensus on the benchmarks required for colonoscopy care in Australia. Despite these new guidelines being implemented, it is still unknown if they have been successfully adopted by hospitals in Australia. Methods This mixed‐methods study of outpatient colonoscopies from January to May 2022 compared the current clinical practice to the Colonoscopy Clinical Care Standards using quantitative and qualitative data. Thus, taking the first step to address this gap. Results In this single‐center study of adults (≥18 years of age) attending for an outpatient colonoscopy, there were 99 patients included with a mean age of 56 ± 15.2 years, and the majority of participants were female (56.6%). Only 21% of colonoscopies were considered “on time” for their corresponding triage category. An easily accessible documentation of informed consent for colonoscopy was available in 86% of cases. Bowel preparation was adequate in 88% of patients. Withdrawal time was reported in 14 patients and total procedure time was available for the majority (n = 92) of patients. Overall, a perceived benefit from colonoscopy (diagnostic findings or reassuring result of a normal colonoscopy) was determined in 93% of patients. Discussion This study has identified a number of areas that could be improved including documentation and availability, specifically of informed consent, discussion of risks and benefits, withdrawal time, timely colonoscopy, and adequate bowel preparation. In conclusion, recommendations would increase compliance with the Colonoscopy Clinical Care Standards, improve patient care and engage in best practice and can also be extrapolated to other healthcare providers.
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spelling doaj-art-70fc445fa42a462bae95178887a806632025-08-20T04:02:06ZengWileyHealth Science Reports2398-88352025-07-0187n/an/a10.1002/hsr2.71011A Comparison of the Australian Colonoscopy Care Standards to Current Clinical PracticeSimona Sarmiento0Rikvin Singh1Jeremy Ripper2Kavitha Subramaniam3Australian National University School of Medicine and Psychology Canberra Australian Capital Territory AustraliaAustralian National University School of Medicine and Psychology Canberra Australian Capital Territory AustraliaAustralian National University School of Medicine and Psychology Canberra Australian Capital Territory AustraliaAustralian National University School of Medicine and Psychology Canberra Australian Capital Territory AustraliaABSTRACT Introduction Colonoscopy remains the gold standard for colorectal cancer screening and surveillance. The Colonoscopy Clinical Care Standards were introduced by the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Healthcare to provide a national consensus on the benchmarks required for colonoscopy care in Australia. Despite these new guidelines being implemented, it is still unknown if they have been successfully adopted by hospitals in Australia. Methods This mixed‐methods study of outpatient colonoscopies from January to May 2022 compared the current clinical practice to the Colonoscopy Clinical Care Standards using quantitative and qualitative data. Thus, taking the first step to address this gap. Results In this single‐center study of adults (≥18 years of age) attending for an outpatient colonoscopy, there were 99 patients included with a mean age of 56 ± 15.2 years, and the majority of participants were female (56.6%). Only 21% of colonoscopies were considered “on time” for their corresponding triage category. An easily accessible documentation of informed consent for colonoscopy was available in 86% of cases. Bowel preparation was adequate in 88% of patients. Withdrawal time was reported in 14 patients and total procedure time was available for the majority (n = 92) of patients. Overall, a perceived benefit from colonoscopy (diagnostic findings or reassuring result of a normal colonoscopy) was determined in 93% of patients. Discussion This study has identified a number of areas that could be improved including documentation and availability, specifically of informed consent, discussion of risks and benefits, withdrawal time, timely colonoscopy, and adequate bowel preparation. In conclusion, recommendations would increase compliance with the Colonoscopy Clinical Care Standards, improve patient care and engage in best practice and can also be extrapolated to other healthcare providers.https://doi.org/10.1002/hsr2.71011bowel preparation adequacyclinical care standardscolonoscopydocumentationinformed consenttimely colonoscopy
spellingShingle Simona Sarmiento
Rikvin Singh
Jeremy Ripper
Kavitha Subramaniam
A Comparison of the Australian Colonoscopy Care Standards to Current Clinical Practice
Health Science Reports
bowel preparation adequacy
clinical care standards
colonoscopy
documentation
informed consent
timely colonoscopy
title A Comparison of the Australian Colonoscopy Care Standards to Current Clinical Practice
title_full A Comparison of the Australian Colonoscopy Care Standards to Current Clinical Practice
title_fullStr A Comparison of the Australian Colonoscopy Care Standards to Current Clinical Practice
title_full_unstemmed A Comparison of the Australian Colonoscopy Care Standards to Current Clinical Practice
title_short A Comparison of the Australian Colonoscopy Care Standards to Current Clinical Practice
title_sort comparison of the australian colonoscopy care standards to current clinical practice
topic bowel preparation adequacy
clinical care standards
colonoscopy
documentation
informed consent
timely colonoscopy
url https://doi.org/10.1002/hsr2.71011
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