Why would you have a sedation-free colonoscopy, when the norm is sleeping through the procedure and having no recollection of it?

What’s driving Propofol use for colonoscopy, better patient care or a better bottom line?

Just 10 years ago, moderate sedation—a combination of short-acting anxiety and pain medications administered by a gastroenterologist—was used in more than 80% of all colonoscopies in the U.S. Yet over the past decade, the use of deep sedation (aka, MAC) has risen sharply.  A recent study of over 6.6 million patients undergoing GI procedures found that by 2010, 33.7% of Medicare patients and 38.3% of commercially insured patients received MAC for their colonoscopy. By 2013, these figures had risen to 47.6% and 53.0%, respectively. And today those numbers are even higher.