Northern B.C. residents eligible to take a non-intrusive colon cancer screening test face a bump along the way that no one else in the province does.
And that is to first receive a referral from their family doctor or, if they don’t have a family doctor, to rely on a virtual physician.
The referral connects them to a lab where they can then pick up a home-use kit for a fecal immunochemical sample and when finished, return the kit to the same location.
Elsewhere in the province, eligible residents only need to contact the B.C Cancer Colon Screening Program directly to request a requisition form to obtain a home-use kit or to contact a walk-in clinic or virtual care provider.
The home-use kit enables a person to take their own stool sample which is then analyzed and a letter containing the results is then sent back to the person.
Early detection increases the colon cancer survival rate to more than 90 per cent, says the provincial screening program.
Letters from the colon screening program are sent to eligible residents every two years, containing the requisition information specific to northern B.C. and for the rest of the province.
“If you live in [the] Northern Health Authority [area], we are not able to provide a requisition as Northern Health Authority has their own practices for colon screening and do not participate in the colon screening program,” the letter states.
The one common factor between the north and the rest of the province is that a first screening comes from a doctor referral.
In a statement, Northern Health says its physician-led screening program is different than that of the rest of the province.
“Since 2015, Northern Health has had a primary care provider-led approach, as primary care providers in the North have preferred to manage their own referrals.
In the North, primary care providers order the screening (FIT) and refer those with positive results directly to a specialist for colonoscopy,” it said.
“Primary care providers recall patients for their regular screenings and follow up with patients.”
The different approach came about as a preference of the majority of physicians and not as a medical necessity, the authority added.
The Provincial Health Services Authority, the umbrella agency for services such as colon cancer screening, defers the practice of obtaining sample kits to health authorities.
“The health authorities know how best to provide services within their communities based on local practices and existing infrastructure,” it said in a statement.
“We continue to connect regularly with Northern Health to ensure communications to northern patients are clear around accessing screening, and about the processes that are appropriate for their communities.”