OAKVILLE, Ontario—In response to recent news that a Quebec physician was found to have conducted incomplete colonoscopies on close to 700 patients, the Canadian Association of Gastroenterology today released a statement stressing the importance and general high quality of GI procedures in Canada.
"High-quality colonoscopies and other endoscopy procedures are essential for the prevention and diagnosis of colon cancer and for the treatment of many other digestive diseases," said Dr. Dan Sadowski, president of the Canadian Association of Gastroenterology (CAG) in response to
"Endoscopy services in Canada are generally very safe," Sadowski added. "In Canada, the top priorities for gastroenterologists and other experts who provide endoscopy services are the health and safety of their patients. Regrettably, there are occasions when medical experts and healthcare facilities do not follow best practices, putting the health and well-being of their patients at risk. We have seen similar instances in other provinces, including Ontario and British Columbia."
The CAG recently published a document called "Consensus Guidelines on Safety and Quality Indicators in Endoscopy." Developed in partnership with the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer (CPAC) and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the new national Consensus Guidelines provide those who deliver endoscopy services with guidance and new tools to measure and benchmark practices. These initiatives, which address quality and safety indicators, quality assurance, training, and credentialing and ethics in endoscopy, will ultimately result in a higher overall quality of endoscopy services, the CAG reports.
