It sounds like a simple solution to a complicated problem: Find out what kind of obesity you have based on a one-time genetic saliva test. Then you and your doctor can get a better idea if anti-obesity drugs or other treatments are more likely to work for you. The goal of creating the obesity types and test is to increase chances you’ll lose weight and improve your health and well-being, vs. a one-strategy-fits-all approach. It’s what Mayo Clinic researchers had in mind when they created four phenotypes of obesity.
Author: Abhay Panchal
The American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE), a leading gastrointestinal medical society, recently awarded a three-year recognition for quality and safety to Evangelical Community Hospital’s Ambulatory Surgical Center. This recognition is part of its program specifically dedicated to promoting quality in endoscopy in all settings where it is practiced in the United States. The Evangelical Ambulatory Surgical Center is one of more than 600 endoscopy units to be granted the recognition since 2009. The ASGE Endoscopy Unit Recognition Program honors endoscopy units that have demonstrated a commitment to patient safety and quality in endoscopy as evidenced by meeting the program’s…
Bethesda, MD (June 1, 2023) – Today, Barbara H. Jung, MD, AGAF, will begin her term as the 118th president of the AGA Institute. She currently serves as the first woman Robert G. Petersdorf professor and chair of internal medicine at the University of Washington and is the fourth woman president to lead AGA. Dr. Jung is an international expert in the field of TGF-beta superfamily signaling in colon cancer and has made significant contributions at AGA prior to becoming president, most recently as a member of the finance and operations committee, chair-elect of audit committee and vice chair of…
Almost a year after announcing its intention to acquire a majority stake in M.I.Tech, the South Korean medtech responsible for a portfolio of gastrointestinal and airway stents, Boston Scientific is walking away from the deal. In a statement sent to Fierce Medtech on Thursday, Boston Scientific said the agreement “required global regulatory approvals that we were not able to obtain in some countries.”
Key takeaways: The ACG and AGA have released a joint clinical practice guideline with 10 evidence-based recommendations for the pharmacological management of adults with chronic idiopathic constipation, the first to include magnesium oxide and senna.
New Spherix research highlights existing need for innovation in this underserved population EXTON, Pa., May 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — The non-alcoholic fatty liver disease/non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NAFLD/NASH) epidemic is roughly 2.5 times greater than diabetes in the U.S. Despite the significant size and unmet need of the potential market, pharmaceutical companies have yet to capitalize on the opportunity. History is littered with failed NAFLD/NASH clinical trials, with last Friday’s Gastrointestinal Disease Advisory Committee (GIDAC) potentially serving up another, as it denied Intercept Pharmaceutical’s accelerated approval for Obeticholic Acid (OCA) to treat NASH. While OCA may still have a chance to find…
Artificial intelligence (AI) is already changing the landscape of medicine, enhancing tried and true diagnostic tools. And ulcerative colitis (UC), a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), is just one condition for which researchers are making impressive inroads into better predicting disease outcomes, flares, and complications, as well as identifying more targeted treatments, as they learn to harness AI’s technological might. It’s early days, definitely, with scientists only beginning to grasp the scope of AI’s abilities in the medical arena for this condition. However, one way that AI could soon change UC care specifically is with the gold standard screening…
Cleveland, Texas-based Texas Emergency Hospital is the most expensive hospital to receive a colonoscopy, according to information from data analytics company Hospital Pricing Specialists. Hospital Pricing Specialists created an annual pricing survey that analyzed more than 5,000 U.S. hospitals by examining hospital machine-readable files and public claims. The goal of the survey was to analyze the effects of the price transparency law on CMS-defined shoppable codes, according to a May 25 email to Becker’s from the company. Here is the pricing data for CMS shoppable code, CPT 45380-Colonoscopy, at the 10 most expensive hospitals to have the procedure done:
In June, new prior authorization rules from UnitedHealthcare concerning select gastroenterology procedures will take effect, requiring patients and physicians to seek authorization for gastroenterology endoscopy services, including esophagogastroduodenoscopies, capsule endoscopies, diagnostic colonoscopies and surveillance colonoscopies. Several physician groups, including the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and the California Medical Association, have expressed opposition to the changes, citing patient safety concerns and undue physician burden. UnitedHealthcare begs to differ, saying that these changes will actually improve patient safety by preventing procedure overutilization. “Prior authorization is an important checkpoint to make sure a service and procedure is safe and clinically appropriate. It…
The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) proposed regulation that would ban noncompete agreements across the country seems like potential good news for doctors. Of course, many hospitals and employers are against it. As a result, the FTC’s sweeping proposal has tongues wagging on both sides of the issue. Many physicians are thrilled that they may soon have more control over their career and not be stuck in jobs where they feel frustrated, underpaid, or blocked in their progress.