Meeting the colonoscopy boom: Helping healthcare teams manage growing demand

27-Oct-2026

Meeting the colonoscopy boom feature story_desktop

Colonoscopy and colorectal cancer screening procedures are on the rise across the country.¹ As the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force expands screening eligibility from age 50 to 45 in response to rising colorectal cancer rates among younger adults, gastrointestinal (GI) teams are working to keep pace with growing demand.²

Why it matters

Behind every colonoscopy is a team working to deliver safe, efficient care. As demand for screening grows, technologies like the Neptune S Waste Management System can help protect healthcare professionals from exposure to biohazardous waste while supporting procedural workflows that help contribute to safer environments for both caregivers and patients.

Growing demand for colorectal cancer screening

Colonoscopy remains one of the most important tools in colorectal cancer screening. In recent years, the number of people eligible for colon cancer screening has increased following updated recommendations from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, which lowered the recommended starting age for average-risk adults from 50 to 45.²

For gastroenterologists and their teams, the challenge isn't simply how long a colonoscopy takes. It's everything surrounding the procedure. Preparing procedure rooms, managing fluid waste, processing specimens and turning rooms over between patients all contribute to the workflow surrounding a colonoscopy.

As procedure volumes grow, healthcare organizations are increasingly evaluating technologies and workflows that can support caregiver safety, reduce unnecessary manual tasks and help teams work more efficiently. Among them, the systems used to manage fluid waste during a colonoscopy procedure can play an important role.

Supporting healthcare teams through every colonoscopy procedure

The impact of higher procedure volumes can be felt among healthcare professionals working in the gastroenterology (GI) suite, where routine workflow challenges become more pronounced as schedules fill.

At one facility, certified gastroenterology nurse Connie Hall, RN, reported that five procedure rooms were handling approximately 500 to 600 colonoscopies each month, with at least 1,000 additional patients waiting to be scheduled. “We’re on a trajectory to break any record we would have thought about setting,” she said. ³

Higher procedure volumes can magnify inefficiencies that may once have seemed routine. For Hall's team, one of those challenges was fluid waste management.

Why fluid waste management matters during colonoscopy screening

During a colonoscopy, fluid and other waste must be collected and managed safely. Traditionally, a canister-based system is used by care teams, and as it gets filled, it may require staff to change canisters during a procedure. Those additional steps can add work and stress for the clinical team. They can also create opportunities for staff exposure to biohazardous fluids when handling waste.

Healthcare organizations may benefit from examining how waste management processes affect both workflow and caregiver safety. Technologies such as Stryker's Neptune S Waste Management System are designed to help reduce manual handling of biohazardous fluid, supporting a safer environment for healthcare professionals while helping streamline workflow throughout the day.

Neptune S is described as a ’closed waste management system’ that offers an alternative to traditional canister handling. The system provides consistent suction while helping protect staff from unintentional exposure to biohazardous fluid and spills. Instead of requiring staff to repeatedly interact with individual waste canisters, the system can help streamline fluid collection and management throughout a colonoscopy procedure.

That distinction becomes increasingly important at scale. In a GI department completing hundreds of procedures each month, changing waste canisters two or three times during some procedures, reducing repetitive manual tasks may help staff maintain workflow while limiting unnecessary interactions with biohazardous waste.

Stryker's Neptune S Waste Management System

Addressing polyp retrieval

Fluid isn't the only thing passing through a suction system during a colonoscopy. Polyps, or clusters of cells that form in the colon, may be removed during the procedure and collected for further testing. When a removed polyp cannot be easily located, retrieval can add time and complexity to an already busy workflow, sometimes requiring healthcare professionals to manually search through collected waste.

Colonoscopy procedure showing a polyp in the large intestine

That’s why Neptune S incorporates an illuminated manifold port and backup basket designed to help prevent the loss of polyps 2 mm or larger. By supporting specimen collection alongside suction and waste management, the system helps simplify several interconnected steps within the colonoscopy workflow.

“It was labor intensive to change out those canisters. The way you had to go through them to find a missing polyp, now that’s a day you don’t want to repeat very often,” Hall recalls.

By helping simplify specimen collection and reducing the need for manual searches through collected waste, Neptune S supports caregiver safety and efficiency while helping to facilitate important tissues, such as polyps, 2mm or larger, are successfully recovered for evaluation.

Designing the GI suite around the people inside

As demand for colonoscopy screening grows, facilities have an opportunity to examine more than scheduling and procedure volume alone.

How often are staff changing waste canisters?

Where are unnecessary exposures occurring?

What happens when a polyp is difficult to retrieve?

Are existing processes adding steps that could be reduced or eliminated?

Those questions can help uncover opportunities to improve both safety and efficiency. The result is a GI environment designed not only around getting more procedures done, but around helping the people who perform them do their jobs safely and efficiently.

Our philosophy extends beyond colonoscopy

Healthcare workers deserve the same protection and advocacy as the patients they care for. Through our Journey to Zero* Harm initiative, we are committed to helping reduce preventable sources of harm in healthcare environments, supporting safer conditions for caregivers and patients alike.

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Our goal is Zero*

Zero splashes
and spills

Zero surgical
smoke

Zero lost
polyps**

Zero maternal
harm

Zero retained sponges

Zero hypoxic injuries***