Chris Shaver, MD, is the CEO at Birmingham (Ala.) Gastroenterology Associates. Here, he offers eight predictions on the future of the specialty in 2021:
Question: What’s in store for GI in 2021?
Dr. Chris Shaver: Our medium-sized, single-specialty GI practice experienced the very real challenges and uncertainties characteristic of the coronavirus pandemic. Our general approach to this unprecedented event included staying open for business through consolidating provider schedules in our clinics and hospitals, [offering] telemedicine, [making] appropriate adjustments in office staffing and instituting protocols to protect our patients and employees. Along the way, we learned a lot about our business and our people. This information enabled us to make some positive clinical and operational adjustments that will persist well beyond COVID-19.