CT colonography (CTC) was approved by the FDA in 2009 as a method of screening for colorectal cancer, and studies have shown it to be similarly effective to colonoscopy without the associated high cost and need for sedation. Although the convenience of an outpatient procedure could help raise flagging CRC screening rates and potentially save lives, access to the procedure has been stymied by a turf war between radiologists and gastroenterologists and thus far the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have denied reimbursement.
