Guardant Health announced that its Shield blood test for colorectal cancer (CRC) screening is now covered by UnitedHealth Group, making United the first major U.S. commercial insurer to provide coverage for the FDA-approved blood-based screening test. The policy expands access for eligible average-risk adults aged 45 and older, bringing the total number of covered lives for Shield to approximately 100 million across commercial, Medicare Advantage, and supplemental Medicare plans. Shield is currently the only FDA-approved blood test for primary colorectal cancer screening included in both the American Cancer Society (ACS) and National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) screening guidelines. Unlike stool-based…
Author: Abhay Panchal
This GI & Hepatology News Perspectives article provides practical guidance from experienced endoscopists on two key endoscopic topics: the management of Barrett’s esophagus and the endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) of large colorectal polyps. Rather than focusing on guidelines alone, the authors share real-world techniques, procedural decision-making, and lessons learned from high-volume clinical practice. For large colorectal polyps, Dr. Gottumukkala S. Raju emphasizes that successful EMR begins long before the first snare is deployed. Careful patient selection, procedural planning, lesion assessment, and ensuring the right equipment and support are available are all critical. Factors such as upcoming travel, patient support at…
Planet First Partners has invested in Iterative Health, following the company’s $77 million Series C funding round, to support its mission of accelerating clinical research through AI-enabled technology and clinical trial infrastructure. The company addresses one of the biggest challenges in clinical research—slow patient enrollment and delayed trial execution—by embedding research directly into routine clinical care. Its integrated platform combines centralized operations, expert staffing, proprietary AI, and clinical trial expertise, achieving twice the site activation speed and three times higher patient enrollment than industry benchmarks. Iterative Health’s research network now spans more than 100 sites across North America, Europe, India,…
In the latest edition of The Scope Forward Show, I’m joined by Matt Schwartz, Founder & CEO of Virgo and Dr. Neil Parikh, Chief Innovation Officer, Connecticut GI and Chair of Innovation, GI Alliance. Together, we explored the top AI headlines shaping gastroenterology and medicine. We also had some fun asking my AI what might happen if SpaceX were to “buy” gastroenterology. If these headlines make you wonder what they have to do with GI, this is exactly why you should watch the episode. A few insights from the interview: 1. SpaceX’s healthcare ambitions: 5 things to know 2. UnitedHealth’s $3 Bn AI Push Expands to Bots Calling Doctors,…
Century Health has partnered with Arizona Gastrointestinal Associates (AGA) to use AI to convert unstructured clinical data—including endoscopy reports, pathology findings, physician notes, and lab results—into research-grade datasets for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH). The collaboration leverages Century Health’s AI platform, CHARM, to automate data extraction and analysis, reducing the need for time-consuming manual chart reviews while enabling large-scale real-world evidence generation. The partnership will analyze data from more than 21,000 IBD and MASH patients treated across AGA’s independent gastroenterology network. By capturing treatment patterns, disease progression, and outcomes from routine clinical practice, the initiative aims…
Colorectal cancer remains the third most common cancer worldwide, with over 1.9 million diagnosed cases and more than 930,000 deaths in 2020 alone. A critical challenge lies in detecting precancerous colorectal polyps, which vary greatly in size, shape, and appearance. During colonoscopy, even experienced physicians have a miss rate as high as 27% for small polyps. To address this, a research team led by LI Hailong and LIU Guohua from Donghua University, together with ZHAO Meng from Yanshan University, proposed an improved YOLO-based model named EF-YOLO. The model incorporates several key innovations:
As of early 2026, hospitals or corporate entities employ 82% of physicians — a 5.6 percentage point increase in just two years, according to Avelere and the Physicians Advocacy Institute. The consolidation has been decades in the making, but the pace is accelerating. Since 2024 alone, hospitals have acquired roughly 5,800 physician practices and corporate entities — primarily private equity firms and insurers — have acquired more than 8,000. Here is a breakdown of which groups are buying up physician practices, including at what scale, price, and what the results and costs are for physicians in acquired practices. 1. Private…
As collaboration between gastroenterologists and the pharmaceutical and medical device industries continues to grow, advisory boards, consulting, educational programs, and research partnerships have become increasingly common. These engagements enable clinicians to share real-world insights that help shape the development, evaluation, and adoption of new therapies and technologies, while also providing access to emerging science, professional networks, and opportunities to influence patient care. The review emphasizes that industry collaboration can be valuable when conducted transparently and ethically. It provides practical guidance on evaluating advisory opportunities, understanding compensation and regulatory requirements, and managing potential conflicts of interest. Ultimately, the goal is to…
Initiating a new program or service line involves an array of challenges, whether in an academic institution, a private setting, or a federally run hospital. At the Scrubs & Heels Leadership Summit 2026, three gastroenterologists who have successfully navigated these obstacles led a discussion with advice for anyone hoping to bring a new program to their institution. Rashmi Advani, MD, an interventional and bariatric endoscopist at Cedars-Sinai, in Los Angeles; Tauseef Ali, MD, the medical executive director of SSM Health Digestive Care, in Oklahoma City; and Daniela Guerrero Vinsard, MD, an advanced endoscopist at the Veterans Affairs medical center in…
Researchers at the University of Twente have developed SeroTab, an electronics-free, swallowable soft robotic capsule that could offer a less invasive alternative to traditional upper gastrointestinal endoscopy for certain diagnostic applications. Guided externally by a handheld magnet, the capsule glides through the stomach, measures gastric acidity in real time using ultrasound-visible hydrogel technology, and can collect stomach fluid samples on demand for laboratory analysis—all without requiring a camera, battery, or wired endoscope.