The AGA applauded the reintroduction of the Treat and Reduce Obesity Act into the 118th Congress as this bill would expand Medicare coverage for screening and treatment of obesity by health care providers specializing in obesity care. The Treat and Reduce Obesity Act of 2023 (TROA; H.R. 4818/S. 2407), a bipartisan and bicameral bill seeks coverage under Medicare Part D for FDA-approved medications to treat obesity.
Author: Abhay Panchal
In this article, the authors review various technological and practice innovations that are emerging as important considerations for GI clinical practice, including artificial intelligence, endoscopy, obesity and metabolic disorders, the microbiome, digital health and telemedicine, and environmental sustainability. They discuss limiting factors that can inhibit progress in these areas and call on the GI community to continue to drive progress and accelerate innovation.
Here are five compensation statistics gastroenterologists should know, using data from Medscape: $451,263: The national average salary among gastroenterologists of all years of experience in any practice setting. 57 percent: The percentage of gastroenterologists earning between $436,000 and $639,000.
Researchers at Denmark-based Bactolife are designing targeted protein molecules called Binding Proteins to target toxins from harmful pathogens that have infiltrated the gastrointestinal tract while leaving the beneficial gut microbiome alone. In a bid to advance its platform, the company has just raised €30m ($33m). Bactolife raised the funds in a Series A round led by ATHOS with participation from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Novo Holdings. The company previously raised €7m in seed financing in April 2021.
Barrett’s esophagus is the premalignant condition for esophageal adenocarcinoma, characterized by transformation of the normal squamous lining of the esophagus to columnar epithelium. Risk factors for BE include older age, male sex, white race, long-standing gastroesophageal reflux disease, positive family history, and tobacco smoking. Given the risk for malignant transformation, early identification of BE-related neoplasia is essential because these lesions can harbor cancer, which may be curable if identified early. With advances in endoscopic visualization and interventions, detection and characterization of both BE and BERN have improved significantly.
New York City-based gastroenterologist Zhi Alan Cheng, MD, has been charged with 50 new counts in criminal court for drugging and sexually assaulting several women, including a patient, The New York Times reported Aug. 7. Dr. Cheng, who was employed by New York City-based NewYork-Presbyterian Queens from July 2020 to December 2022, was arrested in December after his girlfriend discovered videos of him allegedly drugging and assaulting her, according to the report. The police then found devices with other recordings at his home.
EXTON, Pa., Aug. 08, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — US Digestive Health (USDH), one of the largest gastroenterology practices in the United States, managed by US Digestive Health Management (USDHM), a management services organization created to expand access to high-quality, low-cost gastroenterology care, today announced the addition of Blair Gastroenterology Associates, further expanding its comprehensive gastroenterology care services in Pennsylvania.
ATLANTA, Aug. 8, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — United Digestive now offers patients receiving a colonoscopy an enhanced screening by GI Genius™ intelligent endoscopy module. The GI Genius™ module uses advanced AI software to highlight suspicious polyps with a visual marker in real-time—serving as the gastroenterologist’s ever-vigilant second observer. It is a powerful new ally in the fight against colorectal cancer.
An aging U.S. population with a preference for growing older at home — and a fiscally challenging health care financing outlook — are setting the demographic and financial table for the shift of medical care to peoples’ homes discussed in The State of Health at Home Models: Key Considerations and Opportunities, published by the American Medical Association (AMA).
Endoscopists with varying experience had high levels of procedural success and reported high levels of satisfaction performing endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography using a single-use duodenoscope, including in a significant number of high-complexity cases, according to a multicenter, global prospective case series presented at Digestive Disease Week 2023. Although a disposable duodenoscope virtually eliminates the problem of scope contamination, other questions about these devices remained. Would endoscopists be comfortable with the disposable designs, and would they find that they performed the same?