Adding BowlPrep to your pre-procedure instructions
This page is for endoscopists, GPs, practice nurses and endoscopy units who'd like to give adult patients some food ideas to go with their colonoscopy preparation instructions. It's short. You're welcome to copy the templates and printable flyer and edit them to suit your service. If you change the flyer, please keep the 'instructions come first' box, the disclaimer and the sources.
What BowlPrep is, and what it isn't
BowlPrep offers food ideas for the low-residue and clear-fluid days before a colonoscopy. It sticks to food.
Your written instructions stay in charge. Your unit decides which diet phases apply, when they start, the bowel prep product, any medicine changes and fasting. BowlPrep doesn't cover any of those, and it isn't a prep-kit timer or reminder app.
If a recipe and your instructions ever differ, the patient should follow your instructions.
BowlPrep isn't affiliated with, or endorsed by, any clinic, hospital or endoscopy service.
What you'd be linking to
Free starter recipes at bowlprep.com.au/starter-recipes/. There are five low-residue recipes, with a free PDF download:
- Poached eggs on toast
- Chicken sandwich
- Chicken and rice noodle soup
- Ricotta pancakes
- Slow-cooker beef bone broth
These are for the low-residue days, not the clear-fluid phase. If your clear-fluid list includes strained broth, patients should check with you before using the bone broth recipe on clear fluids. Patients don't need to buy anything to use them.
Clear-fluid recipes at bowlprep.com.au/clear-fluid-recipes/. These are for patients once your instructions move them to clear fluids. They should check each one against your clear-fluid list.
The full cookbook (optional). The Colonoscopy Cookbook has 20 recipes by Sophie Hansen. It's A$8.99 as a PDF, and it's also available as an iOS app and an Android app. You don't need to mention it, because the starter recipes stand on their own.
How to add it
- Keep your own instructions first. So patients read your food list before they see ours, add the BowlPrep line after your diet section.
- Pick a template. There's a line for printed or emailed prep sheets, one for SMS or booking confirmations, and a snippet for your website or patient portal.
- Ask patients to check each recipe against your list. Food lists differ between services, and yours is the one that applies.
- Hand out the flyer with your instructions, not instead of them. It has a QR code that links to the starter recipes, and space to write your unit's phone number.
For GPs referring after a positive screening result
If you'd like a plain-language page to give patients before they're referred, see Got a positive bowel screening result? What happens next. It points them back to you and to the clinic doing their procedure.
Good to know
- These pages are written for adults preparing for a colonoscopy, and for the people cooking with them.
- Questions about BowlPrep go to hello@bowlprep.com.au. Questions about a patient's preparation belong with your unit.
This is generic advice and does not override any specific instructions from your doctor or clinic.
Sources: Healthdirect: How do I prepare for a colonoscopy? · Cancer Council Australia: Colonoscopy preparation