GIQuIC Colonoscopy Quality Registry Surpasses 100,000 Cases

Milestone Underscores Value of Clinical Benchmarking Tool for Gastroenterology Practices

BETHESDA, Md., Oct. 11, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The GI Quality Improvement Consortium, Ltd. (GIQuIC), a joint initiative of the American College of Gastroenterology and the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, announced today that more than 100,000 colonoscopy cases have been submitted to a national registry of endoscopic procedures.  

GIQuIC registry participants have contributed real-time procedure related data from over 100,000 colonoscopies, not claims data, and the growth rate for the registry has increased to almost 2,000 new cases per week in recent months, with an accompanying surge in the growth of the number of practices involved in this quality improvement effort.

GIQuIC is a national registry that fosters the ability of endoscopists and endoscopy facilities to benchmark themselves, and provides impetus for quality improvement.  Some 84 data fields for colonoscopy are collected and ten quality measures are benchmarked, including rate of cecal intubation, adenoma detection rate, prep assessment, and appropriate indications for procedure, among others.  Currently, hundreds of physicians from endoscopy centers nationwide have registered to participate in this ground-breaking initiative.

The collection of real-time data from more than 100,000 colonoscopies is an important milestone for those gastroenterologists who were early adopters of GIQuIC and whose forward thinking helped reach this threshold.  "Every additional user makes the registry more valuable for everyone else who uses it," commented Irving Pike, M.D., FACG, FASGE, President of the GIQuIC Board.  "As the data accumulates, the potential value of GIQuIC, not only as a national benchmarking tool, but also as a research database, grows," he added.

"Reaching 100,000 cases in such a short time has exceeded our expectations. We expect this number will steadily increase as there is more emphasis from payers and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for physicians to document compliance with quality measures," said Glenn M. Eisen, MD, MPH, FASGE, Director and Secretary of the GIQuIC Board. "Right now, participation in quality improvement programs is voluntary, but it will be required by law in the next two years. GIQuIC is leading the way among reporting systems and helping physicians meet quality compliance requirements."

"GIQuIC has made it simple and easy to track our procedural volume and quality.  This has allowed the physicians to monitor their performance to ensure it is meeting quality standards," commented Michael S. Morelli, MD, CPE, FACG, a GIQuIC user.  "Prior to GIQuIC, the doctors had no idea how well they were performing colonoscopy procedures.  GIQuIC has changed that," he added.

The ease of use and the value of the data generated by GIQuIC, both for benchmarking with accreditation agencies as well as demonstrating quality performance to insurance providers, has been a key benefit for registry participants.  According to Laura Allen, RN and clinical director of an endoscopy center, "GIQuIC is a handy reference for the physicians in our practice to readily review their performance and how they compare to others in the practice, as well as to benchmark against national statistics.  This is a wonderful way for the physicians to demonstrate to the community and to themselves that they are doing an outstanding job and performing procedures in a quality manner."  The economic benefits of the GIQuIC registry include the value to endoscopy centers of the data on quality performance to secure better reimbursement contacts and to be recognized as a group of highly preferred providers, according to Ms. Allen.

Additionally, recent feedback from other GIQuIC participants suggest savings to GI practices by using the GIQuIC registry as a mechanism to collect data that would otherwise use staff time.  In one case, a 6-person GI practice in Virginia reported savings equivalent to the cost of a full-time employee by using the GIQuIC registry as a mechanism to collect data that would otherwise use staff time.

About GIQuIC

The GI Quality Improvement Consortium, Ltd. ("GIQuIC") is an educational and scientific 501(c)(3) organization established by gastroenterologists, physicians specializing in digestive disorders.  GIQuIC is a joint initiative of the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) and the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE). Gastroenterologists treat patients for disorders and conditions of the digestive tract.  GIQuIC has developed and utilizes various measurements of the endoscopic techniques of practicing gastroenterologists, a process referred to as benchmarking.  This national benchmarking project began by measuring common endoscopic procedures employed by gastroenterologists.  Endoscopy is a minimally invasive medical procedure that is used to assess the digestive system organs by inserting a tube orally into a patient's stomach or rectally into the patient's colon.  The physician founders of the GIQuIC believe that the scientific measurement of the quality of endoscopic procedures will improve the quality of the medical care being given to patients throughout the United States and abroad, and ultimately will improve the quality of public health.  For more information about the GIQuIC registry, visit www.giquic.org.

About the American College of Gastroenterology

Founded in 1932, the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) is an organization with an international membership of more than 12,000 individuals from 80 countries. The College is committed to serving the clinically oriented digestive disease specialist through its emphasis on scholarly practice, teaching and research. The mission of the College is to serve the evolving needs of physicians in the delivery of high quality, scientifically sound, humanistic, ethical, and cost-effective health care to gastroenterology patients. For more information, visit www.gi.org.

About the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy

Since its founding in 1941, the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) has been dedicated to advancing patient care and digestive health by promoting excellence and innovation in gastrointestinal endoscopy. ASGE, with more than 12,000 members worldwide, promotes the highest standards for endoscopic training and practice, fosters endoscopic research, recognizes distinguished contributions to endoscopy, and is the foremost resource for endoscopic education. Visit www.asge.org and www.screen4coloncancer.org for more information and to find a qualified doctor in your area.

SOURCE American College of Gastroenterology