Virtual colonoscopy turf war takes a twist

Dear AuntMinnie Member,

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Then take their patients and shut them out.

That could be what's happening in virtual colonoscopy, where gastroenterologists are beginning to put aside their long-standing opposition to the technique -- and are making plans to take control of the procedure themselves.

It's all laid out in an article we're featuring this week in our Virtual Colonoscopy Digital Community by staff writer Eric Barnes. The impetus for the shift has been a recent report by the American Gastroenterological Association, which starts by acknowledging the promise of VC, then outlines the society's plans for training gastroenterologists to perform the studies.

Could virtual colonoscopy go the way of echocardiography, nuclear cardiology, and other imaging procedures that have slipped away to other medical specialties? It's possible, but radiologists are pointing out that starting a virtual colonoscopy service is a lot more complicated than just running patients through a CT scanner.

Get all the details on this evolving story by clicking here, or visit our Virtual Colonoscopy Digital Community at vc.auntminnie.com.