Kaiser Permanente Southern California Sets New Guinness World Record for Most Colorectal Cancer Screenings

PASADENA, Calif. --(Business Wire)--

Kaiser Permanente Southern California set a new Guinness World Record today with 7,652 colorectal cancer screenings completed in one day at multiple sites. A dedicated team of more than 300 Kaiser Permanente primary care physicians, specialists, nurses, and medical staff at multiple facilities throughout Southern California, administrated 731 colonoscopies, 44 sigmoidoscopies and collected 6,877 at-home fecal immunochemical tests (FIT) during the eight hour event to increase public awareness about the importance of getting regular colorectal cancer screenings.

Since 2008, Kaiser Permanente Southern California has had a 35 percent decline in colorectal cancer casesas a result of an aggressive screening campaign fueled by the organization's comprehensive electronic health information system, which identifies those who need screening.

"Kaiser Permanente is committed to reducing the number of deaths from colorectal cancer," said Edward M. Ellison, MD, executive medical director of the Southern California Permanente Medical Group. "Evidence shows that screening for colorectal cancer saves lives. By encouraging our members to be screened, we're often able to identify and remove polyps from the colon before they become malignant, greatly lowering their risk of developing colorectal cancer."

With appropriate screening, colorectal cancer is one of the most preventable forms of cancer. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), although colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States, as many as 60 percent of these deaths could be prevented with early detection.

In March of 2011, Kaiser Permanente's San Diego Medical Center set a Guinness World Record for the largest colon cancer screening at multiple locations with 546 screenings at 11 locations in the San Diego area.

Kaiser Permanente, in line with the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendations, encourages its members age 50 and above to undergo a yearly at-home FIT test, a colonoscopy every 10 years, or a sigmoidoscopy every 5 years. Adults in this age group should consult their physicians about their medical histories and what colorectal cancer screening test is best for them.

About Kaiser Permanente Southern California

Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America's leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, our mission is to provide high quality, affordable health care services to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve more than 3.5 million members in Southern California. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal physicians, specialists and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the-art care delivery and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education and the support of community health. For more information, go to: www.kp.org/newscenter.