Completion Rates and Timeliness of Diagnostic Colonoscopies for Rectal Bleeding in Primary Care

Background Rectal bleeding is the most common presenting symptom of colorectal cancer, and guidelines recommend timely follow-up, usually with colonoscopy to ensure timely diagnoses of colorectal cancer. Objective Identify loop closure rates and vulnerable process points for patients with rectal bleeding. Design Retrospective cohort study, using medical record review of patients aged ≥ 40 with index diagnosis of rectal bleeding at 2 primary practices—an urban academic practice and affiliated community health center, between January 1, 2018, and December 31, 2020. Patients were classified as having completed recommended follow-up workup (“closed loop”) vs. not (“open loop”). Open loop patient cases were categorized into six types of process failures. Participants A total of 837 patients had coded diagnoses of rectal bleeding within study window. Sixty-seven were excluded based on prior colectomy, clinical presentation more consistent with upper GI bleed, no rectal bleeding documented on chart review, or expired during the follow-up period, leaving 770 patients included. Main Measures Primary outcomes were percentages of patient cases classified as “open loops” and distribution of these cases into six categories of process failure that were identified. Key Results 22.3% of patients ( N = 172) failed to undergo timely recommended workup for rectal bleeding. Largest failure categories were patients for whom no procedure was ordered ( N = 62, 36%), followed by patients with procedures ordered but never scheduled ( N = 44, 26%) or scheduled but subsequently cancelled or not kept ( N = 31, 18%). While open loops increased after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, this difference was not significant within our study period. Conclusions Significant numbers of patients presenting to primary care with rectal bleeding fail to undergo recommended workup. The majority either have no procedure ordered, or procedure ordered but never scheduled or cancelled and not kept, suggesting these are important failure modes to target in future interventions. Ensuring reliable ordering and processes for timely scheduling and completion of procedures represent critical areas for improving the diagnostic process for patients with rectal bleeding in primary care.