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AI just found the polyps your doctor almost missed.
Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States. And one of the biggest risk factors is not missed screenings. It is missed polyps during screenings.
Here is what the data is showing us right now.
AI-assisted colonoscopy tools, known as computer-aided detection or CADe systems, are consistently outperforming standard colonoscopy in real-world clinical settings. Multiple published studies and health system reports confirm adenoma detection rate improvements of 20 to 30 percent when AI is used alongside the endoscopist.
That is not a small number. Adenoma detection rate is the single most predictive metric for whether a colonoscopy will actually prevent cancer. A 1 percent increase in ADR is associated with a 3 percent reduction in colorectal cancer risk. Do the math on a 20 percent improvement.
So why is AI-assisted colonoscopy still not standard of care everywhere?
Three reasons come up again and again:
1. Reimbursement has not caught up. There is no separate payment for using a CADe tool, so the financial case for adoption depends on efficiency and liability reduction, not direct revenue.
2. Workflow resistance. Endoscopists report that some AI systems generate alert fatigue, flagging too many false positives and disrupting procedure flow.
3. Equity gaps. These tools are concentrated in large academic or private GI centers. Community health centers and rural hospitals, where colorectal cancer mortality is disproportionately high, often do not have access.
This last point matters most.
If AI colonoscopy is detecting 20 to 30 percent more polyps at well-resourced centers, what does the detection gap look like at under-resourced facilities that are still doing unassisted procedures? The populations most likely to be screened at safety-net hospitals are often the same populations most at risk for late-stage colorectal cancer diagnoses.
Technology that works only where resources already exist does not solve the problem. It widens it.
The question healthcare leaders should be asking right now is not just how do we adopt AI colonoscopy but how do we ensure the facilities serving the highest-risk patients have access to these tools first.
Colorectal cancer is largely preventable. AI is making prevention more reliable. But access to that reliability is still unequal.
That gap is a policy problem, a reimbursement problem, and a leadership problem, all at once.
♻️ Repost if better polyp detection technology should reach every patient, not just those at top-tier medical centers.
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Author:
Jonathan Govette is a seasoned healthcare and technology executive with more than two decades of experience building, scaling, and advising digital health companies. He is the Co-Founder and CEO of Oatmeal Health, an AI-driven Lung Cancer Screening and Diagnostics company focused on expanding access to early detection for underrepresented populations, particularly patients served by Federally Qualified Health Centers and value-based health plans.
With a background in engineering, product development, and strategic partnerships, Jonathan has founded and led multiple health technology ventures across clinical care delivery, regulated medical software, and AI-enabled diagnostics. His work sits at the intersection of medicine, technology, and health equity, with a consistent focus on translating complex clinical problems into scalable, real-world solutions.
Jonathan has spent much of his professional life dedicated to improving outcomes for marginalized and underserved communities. He has designed and implemented frameworks that align clinical quality, reimbursement, and technology to sustainably advance health equity at scale. This mission is deeply personal and informs his leadership philosophy and long-term vision for healthcare transformation.
In addition to his operating experience, Jonathan is an author and long-time writer in the healthcare domain, with over 20 years of published work covering digital health, medical innovation, and healthcare systems. He is a frequent mentor to early-stage founders and regularly advises startups on product strategy, partnerships, and go-to-market execution in regulated healthcare environments.
Before entering industry full-time, Jonathan nearly pursued a career in medicine with an early path toward cardiothoracic surgery, an experience that continues to shape his clinical perspective and respect for frontline care delivery.
CEO | Oatmeal Health | AI Lung Cancer Startup | Engineer | Writer | Almost Became a Doctor (Cardiac Thoracic Surgeon) | 3x Health Tech Founder | Startup Mentor | Follow to share what I’ve learned along the way.
