OREANDA-NEWS. July 14, 2016. Exact Sciences Corp. (Nasdaq: EXAS) announced that the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) has proposed to broaden the 2017 Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) quality measures for colorectal cancer screening to include Cologuard® on a three-year schedule.

"Inclusion in the HEDIS quality measures is an important milestone toward Cologuard becoming a standard of care for colon cancer screening," said

Kevin Conroy, chairman and CEO of Exact Sciences.  "Physicians, health systems and insurers would receive quality credit for using this patient-friendly screening option, which we believe will hasten its adoption."

More than 90 percent of America's health plans measure quality based on HEDIS. Likewise, the CMS Star Ratings, which guides quality measures for Medicare Advantage plans, are directly impacted by HEDIS. The proposal to broaden the colorectal cancer screening measure is subject to a 30-day public comment period, which opened today.  NCQA's effort would align HEDIS with the preeminent colorectal cancer screening recommendations, including those of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. The HEDIS 2017 quality measures will be used to audit the 2016 performance of physicians, health systems and insurers. 

"Primary care physicians and health plans are increasingly financially incentivized to demonstrate improvements in quality as measured by data, such as colon cancer screening rates," Mr. Conroy said.  "Cologuard's inclusion in HEDIS is an important step toward helping them achieve better quality scores."

About Cologuard
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recently included Cologuard in its colorectal cancer screening recommendation statement, which resulted in NCQA's proposed mid-year update in order to align the HEDIS measures with the Task Force's recommendation statement. Cologuard is also the only colorectal cancer screening method that is supported by a built-in compliance service designed to actively encourage patients to complete their physician-ordered screening.

Cologuard was approved by the FDA in August 2014 and results from Exact Sciences' prospective 90-site, point-in-time, 10,000-patient pivotal trial were published in the New England Journal of Medicine in March 2014. Cologuard is included in the American Cancer Society's (2014) colorectal cancer screening guidelines and the recommendations of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (2016). Stool DNA is included in the combined screening guidelines of the American Cancer Society/U.S. Multi-Society Task Force/American College of Radiology (2008) and the American College of Gastroenterology guidelines (2009). Cologuard is indicated to screen adults of either sex, 50 years or older, who are at average risk for colorectal cancer. Cologuard is not for everyone and is not a replacement for diagnostic colonoscopy or surveillance colonoscopy in high-risk individuals. False positives and false negatives do occur. Any positive test result should be followed by a diagnostic colonoscopy. Following a negative result, patients should continue participating in a screening program at an interval and with a method appropriate for the individual patient. Cologuard performance when used for repeat testing has not been evaluated or established. For more information about Cologuard, visit www.CologuardTest.com. Rx Only.

About Exact Sciences Corp.
Exact Sciences Corp. is a molecular diagnostics company focused on the early detection and prevention of the deadliest forms of cancer. The company has exclusive intellectual property protecting its non-invasive, molecular screening technology for the detection of colorectal cancer. For more information, please visit the company's website at www.exactsciences.com, follow Exact Sciences on Twitter @ExactSciences or find Exact Sciences on Facebook.