People who have bowel symptoms and are referred by their GP to Health New Zealand, will now often be offered a FIT (Faecal Immunochemical Test) before having a colonoscopy (referred to as the ‘FIT for symptomatic pathway’).  The FIT is a simple home stool test that checks for tiny amounts of blood that may indicate bowel cancer or another bowel condition. The results help doctors identify who needs urgent investigation and who can be safely managed without an immediate colonoscopy. The National Bowel Screening Programme, on the other hand, is for people who do not have symptoms and are within the eligible screening age range. Its purpose is to detect bowel cancer or precancerous changes early, before symptoms develop.

For more information on the Faecal Immunochemical test:

For more information the National Bowel Screening Programme:

The FIT for Symptomatic pathway is an important step in helping the public system prioritise patients according to risk. However, colonoscopy remains the gold standard investigation for bowel cancer and bowel health assessment, providing the most comprehensive evaluation of the colon and rectum.

Many health insurance policies cover some or all the cost of a private colonoscopy for patients with bowel symptoms. For those without insurance cover, those who do not have symptoms but want peace of mind, or for those who have a positive result from a direct-to-consumer stool test (e.g. FIT or DNA markers) we offer a fixed-fee option, giving patients certainty about costs and timely access to investigation and treatment.