Munich – As part of the past Healthy Hub competition, Das Lab, a provider of medical diagnostics, was awarded a contract by SBK to collaborate in the field of colorectal cancer screening. Access to this important examination is thus easier and faster for SBK policyholders.
Only a few insured people are currently taking advantage of colorectal cancer screening
In order to detect colorectal cancer early enough for successful treatment, statutory health insurance companies in Germany offer people the option of a colonoscopy or an immunological stool test (iFOB test). This test can detect hidden blood in the stool. “We see again and again that far too small a proportion of the insured persons who are entitled to make a claim even take advantage of these examinations – the hurdles for claiming them are often too high for the insured persons,” says Franziska Beckebans, Head of Customer Management and Supply. In 2019/2020, for example, only 15.6 percent of eligible SBK policyholders picked up an iFOB test from a medical practice. Of these people, 32 percent did not submit their stool sample for testing, which is why the utilization is even lower. The number of tests performed continued to fall during the pandemic period.
Lower barriers to greater uptake
The cooperation with Das Lab is supposed to change that: The visit to the practice will become superfluous. “Until now, people who want to have a stool test first have to make an appointment in a medical practice and appear there in person several times. This will no longer apply to SBK policyholders, as they can order the test from home, carry it out and send it directly to the lab by post. This makes everything much faster and less complicated, and the result is also available more quickly. This not only saves our policyholders time, but also relieves the practices,” explains Beckebans. The example of the Netherlands shows that more people have an iFOB test carried out if this is possible at home. Here, utilization increased significantly after the introduction of such tests.