Host: Dr. Ruchir PaladiyaGuest: Dr. Neil Khoury, outgoing PGY-6 GI Fellow at UConn, incoming attending at USF Tampa GeneralIn this kickoff to the Gastroenterology sub-specialty mini-series, Dr. Neil Khoury offers practical, high-yield advice for interns joining the inpatient GI team. He covers everything from setting expectations and optimizing consults to managing team dynamics—tailored for both medical students and residents beginning their GI rotations.
Author: Abhay Panchal
The first half of 2025 has brought major developments in gastroenterology, spanning new drug approvals, trial data, and clinical guidance. Two major FDA approvals expanded the use of IL-23-targeted therapies in Crohn’s disease: mirikizumab (Omvoh) and guselkumab (Tremfya), both showing strong clinical efficacy across trials.
At the 2025 ASCO GI Spotlight, Dr. Anita Turk, a medical oncologist at IU Health, highlighted promising developments in colorectal cancer treatment, particularly in the adjuvant immunotherapy space. She emphasized the significance of the ATOMIC trial (NCT02912559) in demonstrating the curative potential of immunotherapy and discussed the ongoing BREAKWATER trial (NCT04607421), which explores the addition of encorafenib and cetuximab to chemotherapy for BRAF-mutant colorectal cancer. Dr. Turk also expressed optimism about emerging immunotherapy combinations showing early activity in metastatic colorectal cancer, including in patients with traditionally resistant MMR-proficient or microsatellite-stable tumors. These developments reflect a shift toward more effective, personalized…
In a compelling episode of The Scope, retired gastroenterologist Dr. Shanker Mukherjee shares how he diagnosed himself with IgG4-related disease, a rare autoimmune condition, after experiencing persistent back pain and inconclusive test results. Initially suspected to have lymphoma, Dr. Mukherjee’s deep dive into his own medical data led him to uncover the correct diagnosis. He joins Dr. Allison Yang, medical director of Weill Cornell’s Pancreas Program, to discuss the diagnostic challenges of this elusive disease and emerging treatment approaches. The episode offers a unique look at the intersection of clinical expertise and personal health journeys.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., abruptly canceled a scheduled meeting of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force — a long-standing, nonpartisan panel that issues evidence-based recommendations on preventive health services like cancer screenings and STI testing. This cancellation, coming on the heels of Kennedy’s dismissal of CDC vaccine advisers, has raised alarm among health experts and lawmakers who fear the task force may be the next target in a political reshaping of public health policy. Critics argue this move threatens the task force’s integrity and could disrupt access to free…
Private equity-backed consolidation is rapidly reshaping gastroenterology. Nearly 10% of U.S. gastroenterologists now work in PE-owned practices, and from 2019 to 2023, at least 108 GI practices were consolidated. In 2023 alone, over a dozen GI companies expanded their footprint. Gregory Brennan, MD, a gastroenterologist based in Mansfield, Texas, spoke with Becker’s about what he’s seeing in his region — where deals involving both primary care and specialty groups are increasingly common.
Abridge has secured $300 million in Series E funding led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), with participation from Khosla Ventures, to scale its AI-driven clinical documentation and revenue cycle management (RCM) platform. Already deployed in over 150 enterprise health systems across 55 specialties and 28 languages, Abridge is transforming point-of-care conversations into real-time, compliant clinical notes and billing codes. Its Contextual Reasoning Engine supports the latest CMS-HCC guidelines, helping clinicians capture accurate diagnoses and documentation without added cognitive burden. Clinician burnout has dropped by 60–70% among users, and over 90% continue using Abridge meaningfully. With this funding, Abridge aims to further…
🧪 Study Purpose This study evaluated how well ChatGPT-4.0 responds to both clinical and patient questions about Barrett’s Esophagus (BE). Researchers wanted to test its accuracy, empathy, readability, and overall usefulness as a tool for patient education. 🧭 Methods 📊 Key Findings DimensionChatGPT-4Notes✅ Accuracy79.3% responses rated “completely” or “mostly accurate”Acceptable, but not flawless.📚 CompletenessHigh completeness score (>4/5)Responses were comprehensive.❤️ EmpathyModerate (mean ~3/5)Slightly less than doctors.🧠 Clarity/UnderstandabilityOften clearer than doctors’ responsesPatients found ChatGPT easier to follow.🗳 Patient Preference84.4% preferred ChatGPT’s responsesLiked the tone, format, and ease of understanding. 💬 Conclusion ChatGPT-4 delivered accurate, comprehensible, and generally preferred responses about Barrett’s Esophagus…
Researchers at the University of Chicago have developed a next-generation liquid biopsy test that detects early-stage colorectal cancer with 95% accuracy—a significant leap over existing non-invasive tests. Unlike conventional methods that rely on circulating tumor DNA, this new approach analyzes RNA modifications in both human and microbial cell-free RNA found in the blood. Led by Dr. Chuan He and in collaboration with gastroenterologist Dr. Marc Bissonnette, the study revealed that changes in microbial RNA activity—triggered by tumor-induced shifts in the gut microbiome—can serve as ultrasensitive biomarkers for early cancer detection. This method bypasses a major limitation in early diagnostics: the…
A recent JAMA Health Forum study highlights a growing concern in gastroenterology: colonoscopy prices have risen significantly faster at private equity-acquired practices than at independent ones — by about 4.5% overall, and 6.7% in high-market-share areas. Despite these price hikes, the quality of care remains statistically unchanged, based on six standard measures. Lead researcher Dr. Daniel Arnold of Brown University notes that while consolidation may offer operational efficiency, it’s not translating to better outcomes. “Higher prices without better quality challenges the justification often given for consolidation,” he said. As the pressure of consolidation increases, GI physicians are left weighing trade-offs…