DUBLIN — A swallowable gastric balloon (Allurion Balloon, formerly known as Elipse) combined with daily subcutaneous injections of the glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) agonist liraglutide (Saxenda, Novo Nordisk), leads to a significant average total body weight loss of 19% (18 kg or 40 lb) after around 4 months in people with obesity. “The combination therapy [balloon and liraglutide] resulted in an additional weight loss compared to the two single treatments,” said Roberta Ienca, MD, from the Clinica Nuova Villa Claudia, Rome, Italy, who presented the findings at this year’s European Congress on Obesity (ECO). “Despite both the balloon and liraglutide…
Author: Abhay Panchal
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., May 18, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Biomerica Inc. (NASDAQ: BMRA), a global biomedical company leading the way in innovative gastroenterology solutions, announced a significant advance in the management of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). The inFoods® IBS diagnostic test has now been validated for use with finger stick (capillary) patient whole blood samples simplifying sample collection and facilitating wider access to the test. With this new finger stick blood collection option, any trained medical professional in the doctor’s office can collect the patient’s blood sample during their office visit and forward the sample to the Lab for processing.…
There are a number of utilities for artificial intelligence (AI) in medicine that could have a drastic impact on the field? One such method is for polyp detection following a colonoscopy for colorectal cancer screenings. In a presentation during the 2023 Digestive Disease Week (DDW) in Chicago, Aasma Shaukat, MD, MPH, Director of Research Outcomes, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, NYU Langone, discussed how doctors can better use new technologies like AI for cancer screenings. “Artificial intelligence is here to stay,” Shaukat said in an interview with HCPLive®. “It will make our job in delivering health care and promoting and…
The American College of Gastroenterology recently released an updated clinical guideline on the diagnosis and management of celiac disease (Am J Gastroenterol 2023;118[1]:59-76). GEN‘s Sarah Tilyou spoke with lead author Alberto Rubio Tapia, MD, the director of the celiac disease program at Cleveland Clinic, in Ohio, about the impetus for the guideline and what it means to GI practice.
As we have previously noted, private equity (PE) firms have been increasingly drawn to the health care sector as a profitable investment opportunity. PE is a type of investment that involves pooling funds from investors in order to acquire companies with a goal of improving their financial performance to then sell them for a profit. One recent area of interest for PE firms has been gastroenterology, the branch of medicine that focuses on the digestive system and its disorders. Private equity firms are attracted to this field due to the steady demand for gastrointestinal (GI) services, which are required by…
Gastroenterology is a service line with unlimited potential for growth. The expanding patient need for services, combined with advancements that allow more procedures to be performed in outpatient settings, have made gastroenterology an attractive target for investors. Patients utilize gastroenterology services throughout their lifetimes. Gastroenterologists treat a wide variety of conditions impacting the digestive system, which includes the stomach, intestines, gallbladder, pancreas, and liver. Clinicians care for patients experiencing everything from abdominal pain and heartburn to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and cancers. The stats show that chronic digestive issues keep providers busy:
Key takeaways: The FDA has approved AbbVie’s Rinvoq as a once-day pill intended for the treatment of adult patients with moderate to severe Crohn’s disease who are intolerant, or have had an inadequate response, to one or more TNF inhibitors.
New York tops the list of states that are most in-demand for permanent placement opportunities for gastroenterologists, according to a post from physician search and employment firm Merritt Hawkins. Ten most in-demand states for permanent GI placement:
Bringing in a physician partner has many advantages: A partner may help your practice grow and become more successful; partners allow you to share the workload and to combine skills with another provider; and you can enrich your practice by having a solid teammate. However, business partners can become your greatest asset or worst liability. Deciding whether or not to share your practice with someone else may be one of the most important business decisions you ever make. Deciding who you go into business with can be just as important.
CHICAGO — Surgeons in the Veterans Affairs (VA) medical system did a poorer job at detecting adenomas during routine colonoscopies compared with gastroenterologists, a review of VA data suggested. With results analyzed from nearly 670,000 colonoscopies performed in the VA system, adenoma detection rates were 53% for gastroenterologists versus 41% for surgeons, according to Andrew Gawron, MD, PhD, of the University of Utah and the VA Salt Lake City Health Care System. This gap was apparent irrespective of patient sex or age, and whether the procedures were for routine screening or for follow-up of positive fecal tests results, Gawron told…