Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second most-deadly cancer in the United States and the fourth most commonly diagnosed. Estimates suggest that more than 154,000 people will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2025. Tragically, 52,900 deaths are expected. 

When caught early, outcomes dramatically improve: an incredible 90% of patients survive. But the reality is that far too many are diagnosed far too late. Many patients don’t get screened on time due to long wait times, limited access to GI specialists, or simply not knowing they’re at risk. By the time they’re diagnosed, treatment is more invasive, costly, and less effective. 

These long wait times, missed screenings, and limited access to specialists are costing lives. WovenX Health changes that. By making GI care more accessible, we’re ensuring more people get screened before it’s too late.

The Critical Role of Early Screening for CRC

Colorectal cancer doesn’t appear overnight, which is what makes screening so powerful: it can detect cancer early or even prevent it altogether. But despite the strong evidence that early screening improves survival, compliance remains alarmingly low. One in three eligible individuals don’t get screened, often because they don’t realize they need to. 

Current guidelines recommend screening at age 45 for most people. However, CRC rates are climbing among younger adults, with an incidence rate doubling over the past 25 years. Many in this younger group don’t recognize the warning signs, assuming they don’t need to be screened until they hit the recommended age.

Moreover, many patients with mild symptoms, such as rectal bleeding, who do seek screening, are excluded from open access colonoscopy programs and must schedule a clinic visit—appointments for which often take months.

For patients, screening delays increase the risk of a later-stage diagnosis, leading to higher mortality rates. Indeed, advanced CRC disease states are growing at a rate of 3% annually within younger populations due to late detection, and deaths in this group are rising by 1%. These are thousands of lives lost that could have been saved with earlier screening. 

The Screening Bottleneck: Challenges in Colorectal Cancer Screening

Low CRC screening rates aren’t just caused by patient reluctance or lack of awareness; they’re also caused by systemic inefficiencies. Even when patients want to get screened, logistical barriers such as long wait times for GI consultations and procedures stand in the way.

Screening methods range from non-invasive stool-based tests to full colonoscopies, which remain the gold standard for prevention and detection. But wait times are dangerously long. In 2021, the average wait time for a colonoscopy screening was more than five months. For diagnostic colonoscopies (following positive stool-based or imaging tests), the average wait time exceeded four months. The longer patients wait for a colonoscopy, the higher their risk of death from CRC.

Cancelled appointments and underutilized procedure slots are another barrier to early screening and detection, leading to lost revenue, delayed diagnoses, and preventable deaths.

WovenX Health: A Faster Path to Screening and Better Care

By eliminating bottlenecks and leveraging virtual GI-trained providers, WovenX Health’s virtual care accelerates colorectal cancer screenings and improves patient outcomes.

Through its digitized Open Access platform, WovenX Health accelerates screening intake for patients – allowing a patient to register for a procedure through a QR code before leaving their PCP office, typically in under 5 minutes.  With customizable back-end logic, groups can adjust risk criteria and drive compliance, reducing the burden on front-office staff and booking patients at the appropriate site-of-care per endo suite requirements.  

Screening programs only capture the asymptomatic individuals. WovenX complements existing pathways by also capturing those patients exhibiting mild symptoms and moving them forward quickly in addition to the digitized process for the patients who are eligible and asymptomatic.

Through its On-Demand platform, WovenX Health gets work ups started faster, including accelerating the time to procedure by 72%.  In fact, one in four WovenX Health patients complete their procedures within as little as two weeks and half complete within one month, filling in open slots or cancellations in the endo suite. 

WovenX Health’s NPS score of 90+ is also more than 50% higher than the average, proving that patients value fast, efficient, and streamlined virtual on-demand care. But for many, these services aren’t just convenient; they’re life-changing. Faster screenings mean earlier detection, better treatment outcomes, and lives saved.

Increased Retention, Enhanced Clinical Capacity, and Stronger Practices 

WovenX Health doesn’t just help patients; it helps build stronger, more profitable GI practices. In fact, WovenX customers report an ROI of 3-5X.

How? By reducing time to procedure, practices can maximize available slots and fill all last-minute cancellations. Meanwhile, GI-trained and MD-supervised virtual providers accelerate patient intake, accommodating new patients seeking a consumer-forward experience with more immediate access, and help reduce unnecessary ED or urgent care utilization. This frees up GI specialists for top-of-license work, improving both efficiency and patient care.

WovenX also keeps patients within your practice; 1 in 4 On-Demand patients say they would have sought care elsewhere if the service wasn’t available. With WovenX, you’re strengthening retention, trust, and long-term relationships for a more resilient, future-ready GI practice. 

The Future of GI Care Is Here: Is Your Practice Ready?

Colorectal cancer deaths are preventable, faster screenings save lives, and more efficient practices drive profitability. WovenX Health makes all of this possible. 

By integrating WovenX Health seamlessly into your brick and mortar practice, you can reduce screening wait times from months to weeks, prevent late-stage colorectal cancer diagnoses, enhance patient satisfaction and retention, and maximize provider efficiency and revenue.

Learn more about our solutions or contact us today to get started.

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