Benefits pursued with the product
The Scopia application is used to document colonoscopy indicators, i.e. quality indicators, in real time during operation. The application allows endoscopists to receive feedback on their work and use it to develop their competence. The organisation’s management can, in turn, use the information to develop the unit’s operations.
The objective is to ensure that colonoscopies are carried out for a justified reason and that their quality is consistent. The purpose of the application is to reduce the incidence and severity of colorectal cancer and to lower healthcare costs.
Research evidence related to the product under assessment
The effectiveness of using the Scopia application on improving the quality of colonoscopies has been studied at Mikkeli Central Hospital. At the time of assessment, only the abstract was available from the study.
The study prospectively compared two datasets collected from colonoscopies. The aim was to assess the effectiveness of real-time quality control on the polyp detection rate.
The first dataset included 1,044 colonoscopies (3/2024−3/2025), and the data was manually recorded into Excel sheets by endoscopy nurses. The second dataset contained 543 colonoscopies (4−10/2024), and the data was accumulated in the Scopia application in real time during procedures. For both datasets, the examinations were performed by six endoscopists, two of whom were less able to detect precancerous lesions than the others.
At the procedure unit level, the data collected with the Scopia application produced slightly better results than the data recorded into Excel sheets. However, the differences were not statistically significant. Nonetheless, the results of the two endoscopists with initially lower detection rates demonstrated significant improvement. For one endoscopist, the mean number of polyps detected per 100 procedures (MNP) increased from 88 to 191 (n=96 vs. n=44, p=0.003) and for the other from 83 to 149 (n=126 vs. n=51, p=0.013). Correspondingly, the polyp detection rate (PDR) improved for one endoscopist from 42.7% to 63.4% (p=0.02) and for the other from 41.3% to 56.9% (p=0.06, not statistically significant). [2]
The findings of this study are encouraging, but further research is needed to assess the generalisability and long-term effectiveness of the results.
Literature review
Colonoscopy is a key procedure in the screening, early diagnosis, prevention and post-treatment follow-up of colorectal cancer. The procedure highlights the importance of thoroughness and high-quality performance. Quality is assessed based on various indicators, such as examination preparation, examination coverage, detailed assessment of the mucous membrane and follow-up recommendations. The recommendations also include appropriate documentation of the operation and reporting the results to both the endoscopist and the organisation’s management. The objective is to standardise colonoscopies, improve patient outcomes, reduce complications and improve the prevention of colorectal cancer. [3, 4, 5, 6, 7]
Literature reviews suggest that documenting the colonoscopy procedure and reporting the results to endoscopists and the organisation’s management are recommended. There are also indications that feedback should be regular and continuous, and it can be supplemented by training if necessary. However, the reviews did not accurately describe the features of electronic documentation and reporting systems, such as ease of use, security and integration. It was mentioned that a database was used to automatically collect data into a centralised database or that the system utilised natural language processing to classify colonoscopy reports. An open-source software was used for the processing of reports in one review and a mobile application in another. [8, 9, 10, 11]
Various electronic documentation and reporting systems, such as mobile applications, can improve the quality of colonoscopies by supporting the development of endoscopic competence. In the future, however, studies using broader comparative frameworks will be needed to assess the effectiveness, deployment and cost-effectiveness of different electronic systems.
