Colorectal Cancer Screening (COL-E)

Colorectal cancer screening promotes early detection and possible prevention of colorectal cancer. This Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS®)1measure looks at the percentage of members who had appropriate screening for colorectal cancer.

Who was measured?
PrimeWest Health Families and Children members ages 45 – 64, MinnesotaCare members ages 45 – 64, PrimeWest Senior Health Complete (HMO SNP) members ages 65 – 75, and Prime Health Complete (HMO SNP) members ages 45 – 64 as of the measurement year who were continuously enrolled during the measurement year and the year prior to the measurement year with no more than one 45-day gap in enrollment during each year of continuous enrollment were measured. 

 

The graph shows the rates of these members who had an appropriate screening for colorectal cancer, defined as completing any one of the following:

  • Fecal occult blood test (FOBT) during the measurement year
  • Flexible sigmoidoscopy during the measurement year or the four years prior to the measurement year
  • CT colonography during the measurement year or the four years prior to the measurement year
  • FIT-DNA test during the measurement year or the two years prior to the measurement year
  • Colonoscopy during the measurement year or the nine years prior to the measurement year

Please note that this measure was recently moved to a different form of HEDIS reporting called Electronic Clinical Data Systems (ECDS), and the graph below reflects limited data as a result of this change. The measure name includes “-E” after the abbreviation to indicate it’s an ECDS measure.

What can providers do?
Providers can help increase rates by encouraging members to get screened for colorectal cancer.

1HEDIS® is a registered trademark of the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) 

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Updated_08/20/2025