Obesity is on the rise in the United Status and across the globe, with recent reports estimating that nearly half of Americans will have obesity by 2030.1 This trend is thought to be due to multiple factors, including higher consumption of high-calorie, low-nutrient foods and decreased physical activity, as well as environmental and genetic factors. Although inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is associated with chronic intestinal inflammation that portends malabsorption and nutritional deficiencies, which reduce body weight, the prevalence of obesity in patients with IBD is, in fact, rising in parallel to the rise in the general population. Large population-based studies…
Author: Abhay Panchal
As consolidation accelerates, many independent physicians are weighing whether to partner with a Management Services Organization (MSO), sell to private equity, merge with another practice, or join a hospital system. While these options are often discussed interchangeably, they differ significantly in structure, control, risk, and long-term implications. MSOs generally fall into two categories:
A new Medscape Medical News MedBrief reports that endoscopic ultrasound–guided choledochoduodenostomy (EUS-CDS) may offer a safer and more efficient alternative to ERCP in patients with malignant distal biliary obstruction. In comparative findings, EUS-CDS was associated with a lower rate of postprocedural pancreatitis, higher technical success, and shorter procedure times than ERCP. Post-ERCP pancreatitis remains the most common adverse event linked to the procedure, while EUS-CDS avoids manipulation of the papilla and pancreatic duct by creating a biliary bypass under ultrasound guidance.
Speaking at the Crohn’s & Colitis Congress, Frank I. Scott, MD, MSCE, cautioned that mentorship—while often career-accelerating—can become actively or passively harmful if toxic behaviors go unrecognized. Scott, an associate professor at University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine and codirector of the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation’s IBD Qorus program, emphasized that strong mentorship is linked to higher publication rates, more protected time, better job satisfaction, and stronger career retention. But when mentorship fails, it can quietly derail academic progress. He outlined several mentorship archetypes, noting that effective mentoring often comes from a network—not a single individual—including traditional long-term mentors,…
MAGENTIQ EYE has released two upgraded versions of MAGENTIQ-COLO™, strengthening its AI-powered colonoscopy platform across both the U.S. and European markets. The FDA-cleared U.S. version introduces AI-based endoscopic tool detection, automatically pausing polyp detection overlays when tools enter the field of view—improving usability during intervention. The CE-marked European version goes further by adding computer-aided quality (CAQ) features, designed to support objective documentation of high-quality colonoscopy. New CE-marked capabilities include:
A new study published in The American Journal of Managed Care finds that an employer-sponsored digital digestive care management program significantly reduced healthcare spending for employees with chronic GI conditions. In a propensity-matched analysis, participants using virtual digestive care—combining symptom tracking, personalized nutrition therapy, health coaching, and education—had 18% lower total healthcare costs after one year compared with nonparticipants. This translated to $2,026 in annual savings per member. With an average program cost of $345 per member per year, the intervention generated a 5.87:1 return on investment, driven largely by reductions in inpatient admissions and emergency department visits, despite slightly…
Cedars-Sinai has received a $1.8 million grant from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust to expand its IBD prehabilitation program internationally, starting with hospitals in Israel. The program—developed at Cedars-Sinai and led by Gil Melmed, MD—uses a 10-week, multidisciplinary pre-surgical approach combining nutrition, mental health support, and physical therapy before and after surgery. It has been shown to reduce post-operative complications, 30-day readmissions, repeat surgeries, and opioid use among patients with inflammatory bowel disease.
As gastroenterology heads into 2026, leaders across clinical, academic, and operational settings see the specialty at an inflection point—shaped by AI, workforce strain, reimbursement pressures, and shifting care models. In a recent feature by Becker’s ASC Review, GI leaders shared what they believe will most disrupt the field in the year ahead.
Private equity investment in healthcare hit a record $191 billion in 2025, according to new data from Bain & Company, underscoring healthcare’s position as one of PE’s most resilient and attractive sectors. Healthcare’s scale, durable demand from aging demographics, and long-standing underinvestment in technology continue to draw capital. Pharma and provider services dominated deal activity last year, with growing interest in pharma services infrastructure (including packaging, filling, and sterilization for injectables like GLP-1s), clinical trial sites, and data and analytics firms. On the provider side, PE firms are increasingly backing health IT, workflow automation, and diagnostic technologies aimed at improving…
In a new editorial in Gastroenterology, Jason A. Dominitz and Douglas J. Robertson examine a central tension in colorectal cancer (CRC) screening: does colonoscopy overdiagnose low-risk lesions, or does FIT risk detecting disease too late? The discussion is prompted by new analyses from the COLONPREV study, which compared colonoscopy-based screening with biennial fecal immunochemical testing (FIT) in more than 57,000 average-risk individuals. While prior results showed FIT to be noninferior to colonoscopy for CRC mortality, deeper analysis of premalignant lesions complicates that conclusion. Key insights from COLONPREV: