Albany Gastroenterology Consultants has reached a class action settlement following a 2024 cyberattack that exposed patient data, offering affected patients up to $2,500 in compensation and two years of credit monitoring. Beyond the settlement itself, the case highlights the growing legal, financial, and reputational risks cyberattacks pose to GI practices, reinforcing the need for stronger cybersecurity and data governance across healthcare organizations.
Author: Abhay Panchal
A large real-world study found that water exchange colonoscopy significantly increased adenoma detection rates, particularly for right-sided lesions that are more likely to be missed during conventional colonoscopy. The technique also improved bowel preparation quality and detection of larger adenomas and sessile serrated lesions, although procedures took approximately seven minutes longer. The findings suggest that water exchange could enhance colonoscopy quality and colorectal cancer prevention, even in experienced, high-volume endoscopy practices where detection rates are already above international benchmarks.
Hinge Health is expanding beyond musculoskeletal and migraine care with its $105 million acquisition of Cylinder Health, marking its entry into the rapidly growing digital gastrointestinal care market. The deal combines Cylinder’s GI clinical expertise and established payer partnerships with Hinge’s AI-powered care platform to launch an integrated virtual GI program in 2027. The acquisition reflects rising investment in digital GI care, as healthcare companies look to improve access to gastroenterology services, manage chronic digestive conditions more effectively, and deliver lower-cost, technology-enabled care through a single platform.
Colonoscopy is the most frequently performed procedure in ASCs, and while the demand is rising, the economics of performing it are getting worse. Colonoscopy accounts for 13.4% of all ASC procedure volume nationally, generates more Medicare savings than almost any other outpatient procedure, and is the only screening tool that both detects and prevents colorectal cancer in a single visit. Beginning Jan. 1, Medicare reduced payments for GI endoscopy services performed in ASCs by an average of 8%, while simultaneously increasing reimbursement for the same procedures performed in office-based settings. That directional split, lower rates for ASC-based colonoscopy and higher…
Despite the size of the ever-growing inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) drug market and its diversity of modalities from JAK inhibitors to IL-23s, unmet needs and treatment gaps remain. That’s according to a new paper from Nimbus Therapeutics and Back Bay Life Science Advisors, which surveyed 36 U.S. gastroenterologists to gauge physician perspectives on the current treatment landscape, what’s to come and what they want to see next. When it comes to unmet needs, the doctors’ perceived gaps largely concern clinical remission. For patients with moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis, which is one of the two diseases within the IBD umbrella, 81% of…
As direct-to-consumer microbiome testing becomes more popular, clinicians are calling for stronger scientific and clinical standards to ensure results are accurate, reproducible, and clinically meaningful. The article highlights growing evidence that different companies can generate markedly different results from the same stool sample, raising concerns about inconsistent interpretations and patient confusion. It also points to recent international consensus recommendations that emphasize standardized testing methods, transparent reporting, and clinically validated use cases, arguing that the future of microbiome testing should focus less on cataloging bacteria and more on understanding microbial function and its impact on patient care.
As combined upper GI endoscopy and colonoscopy become increasingly common to improve efficiency and patient convenience, greater attention is being placed on quality assurance for the upper GI portion of the procedure. Unlike colonoscopy, which benefits from established quality metrics and validated AI-assisted detection tools, upper GI endoscopy is still developing standardized quality measures. The article highlights how AI-powered landmark verification and quality monitoring could help standardize upper GI examinations, reduce missed lesions, and create auditable quality records as health systems prepare for evolving clinical guidelines and accreditation standards.
A multicenter international randomized controlled trial involving 1,407 patients found that the DEEP2 AI-powered computer-aided detection (CADe) system significantly increased the number of adenomas detected per colonoscopy (APC) compared with standard high-definition colonoscopy, with the greatest benefit observed in community-based endoscopy practices, where nearly 86% of procedures were performed. While the overall improvement in adenoma detection rate (ADR) was not statistically significant, post hoc analysis showed meaningful gains in community clinics, suggesting AI may help reduce variability in colonoscopy quality outside academic centers. As colorectal cancer screening expands to younger populations, the findings reinforce the potential of AI-assisted colonoscopy to…
A Rutgers-led study of nearly 500,000 adults found that almost half of patients who completed an at-home fecal immunochemical test (FIT) failed to repeat the recommended annual screening, reducing the likelihood of detecting colorectal cancer at an early stage. Researchers found that health systems with organized outreach programs—such as mailed reminders, easy access to FIT kits, and proactive patient tracking—achieved substantially higher repeat screening rates. The findings underscore that improving colorectal cancer outcomes depends not only on expanding access to screening, but also on building systems that keep patients engaged in long-term preventive care.
Throne Science has raised $10 million in Series A funding to expand its AI-powered toilet camera platform, which passively monitors gut health by analyzing stool characteristics using computer vision models trained by gastroenterologists. The company has also launched a beta Gut Health AI Coach and is collaborating with researchers at Harvard, Stanford, and the University of Chicago to validate its technology. While the device is currently marketed as an FDA general wellness product rather than a diagnostic tool, the funding reflects growing investor confidence in AI-driven, longitudinal health monitoring and the emerging role of the bathroom as the next frontier…