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…
Author: Abhay Panchal
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.
Although the treatment of diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome is a core component of gastroenterology practice, it can be a challenge for clinicians. Now classified as a disorder of gut–brain interaction, IBS-D can be debilitatingly painful for patients and greatly decreases quality of life. There are a number of treatments, both pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic, but not every treatment works for every patient. Lin Chang, MD, the co-director of the G. Oppenheimer Center for Neurobiology of Stress and Resilience at the University of California, Los Angeles, offered tips to optimize care for patients dealing with the condition.
This transcript has been edited for clarity. Hello. I’m Dr David Johnson, professor of medicine and chief of gastroenterology at Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, Virginia. I’m back from attending Digestive Disease Week (DDW) 2023 in Chicago, where there was a bevy of information — so much so that I’m going to split this into two separate discussions of all the significant findings I believe to possibly have practice-changing implications, now or on the near horizon. The Option for Occlusion Devices in Atrial Fibrillation and Cirrhosis Let’s begin part 1 of this overview of DDW 2023 with a study…
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with additional information on Pear’s financial state. The assets of prescription digital therapeutics maker Pear Therapeutics have been broken up and sold at auction for $6.05 million after the company filed for bankruptcy in April. According to the court filing, Pear’s assets were split between four bidders: Digital therapeutics company Click Therapeutics, Harvest BIO, sleep tech company Nox Health Group and health technology company Welt. The largest bid of the group came from Nox Health, which will obtain Pear’s assets related to Somryst, a prescription digital therapeutic that uses cognitive behavioral therapy for…
Having tasted blockbuster success with its irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) drug Linzess, Ironwood Pharmaceuticals is willing to pay $1 billion for the chance to make lightning strike twice. The all-cash transaction will see Ironwood put up $17 per share of VectaBio to acquire the Swiss biotech at an 80% premium on the company’s average trading price over the last 90 days. To foot the bill, Ironwood will draw on its cash on hand as well as a four-year $500 million credit facility set up specifically for this purpose.
Want to know what’s going on across the length of your gastrointestinal tract? Swallowing a smart capsule device developed by Envivo Bio could give you the answer, according to a new study. Current medical procedures like endoscopy and testing of stool samples can provide important information on the environment in the gut—the microbes, proteins and metabolites that are within it—but are limited to certain areas such as the stomach and lower intestines.
Novo Nordisk A/S’s weight-loss drug semaglutide, sold as the once-weekly Wegovy shot, was effective as a daily pill in a study. People with obesity or who were overweight and had another health problem lost an average of 15.1% of their body weight when assigned to take the pill, compared with a 2.4% loss in a group given a placebo, the Danish drugmaker said. Both groups also made lifestyle changes. About 85% of the semaglutide group lost 5% or more of their body weight, compared with about 26% on placebo. Gastrointestinal side effects were the most common.
A study published this month in Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network shows telehealth visits consistently outperformed in-person visits in cancer care when both were available. Here, Sam Holliday, co-founder and CEO of Oshi Health, explains the most important takeaways from this study and how these findings translate to gastroenterology care.
Two weeks ago, I saw my 39-year-old patient with long-standing ulcerative colitis in clinic for new onset bleeding per rectum. She mentioned needing to attend an upcoming conference, and was eager to get to the source of the problem and start treatment right away. Given her new symptoms, we decided on an urgent colonoscopy the following week, so we could diagnose the underlying cause and begin treatment. Prior to this episode, her ulcerative colitis had been in remission, and given her increased risk of colon cancer from long-standing disease, she has been undergoing surveillance colonoscopy to look for dysplasia or…