In part two of his series, Dr. Klaus Mergener shifts from legal basics to the day-to-day realities that shape a GI fellow’s career. From clearly defined clinical and on-call duties to how compensation and benefits are structured, he warns against vague contract language that can quietly expand responsibilities without fair pay. With practical advice on reporting relationships, performance evaluations, and supervisory roles, the piece underscores why clarity upfront can mean the difference between a thriving career and early burnout. [Read more →]
Author: Abhay Panchal
Results from GRAIL’s registrational PATHFINDER 2 study, presented at ESMO 2025, show that adding the Galleri multi-cancer early detection (MCED) blood test to standard screenings increased cancer detection rates more than seven-fold. Over half of Galleri-detected cancers were found at early stages, when treatment is most effective, and nearly three-quarters of cases were in cancers without current screening options. The test demonstrated high accuracy in identifying cancer signal origin, enabling faster and more efficient diagnostic workups, with a false positive rate of only 0.4%. With FDA submission underway, Galleri positions itself as a potential game-changer in how we approach population-level…
A new study in Current Medical Research and Opinion found that eliminating patient cost sharing for follow-up colonoscopy after a positive stool-based test led to a 41.2% increase in utilization, with the effect sustained nationwide. The change followed federal actions in January 2023 — tri-department guidance for ACA-compliant/private insurance and a CMS rule extending coverage to Medicare. Researchers analyzed data from 10.8 million colonoscopies (Jan 2022–Nov 2023) using an interrupted time series design, adjusting for seasonal trends. The study notes limitations, including reliance on claims data, short timeframe, and inability to isolate all contributing factors. Still, findings highlight how removing…
St. Charles Health System partnered with WovenX Health to tackle GI access shortages in Central Oregon. Using WovenX’s OnDemand GI platform, the system avoided hiring new staff yet delivered major gains within six months: Differentiator: WovenX combines AI-enabled intake, intelligent routing, APP-led visits, and real-time physician oversight — creating a scalable, ROI-driven specialty access layer without adding FTEs or new clinics.
Atlanta-based United Digestive has added five gastroenterologists to its portfolio since Aug. 1. Here are the five additions, according to notices posted on the company’s website. 1. Cinthana Kandasamy, MD, joined Gastroenterology Associates of Athens (Ga.) in August. 2. Michael Connor, MD, also joined Gastroenterology Associates of Athens (Ga.).
A new Health Affairs study finds that cardiologists and gastroenterologists employed by hospitals or private equity groups charge about 21% more than independent physicians for the same procedures, despite no evidence of improved outcomes. Researchers suggest these higher negotiated rates stem from market power, not quality, with insurers failing to leverage bargaining power effectively.
Despite vast scientific and medical resources, the U.S. health-care system continues to underperform due to decades of market-driven policies that have prioritized profit over patient care. The privatization of Medicaid and Medicare has increased taxpayer costs while restricting patient access, as private insurers and equity firms—focused on shareholder gains—now dominate key clinical sectors. Policy shifts: The article argues that merely restoring pre-Trump conditions or balancing patient rights with investor interests is inadequate. True reform requires decommercializing U.S. health insurance and care delivery to realign the system around patient well-being rather than profit.
Objective: To assess how the use of different colorectal cancer (CRC) screening methods changed in the U.S. between 2017 and 2024 among privately insured adults aged 50–75. Study Design: A retrospective cohort study of ~25 million Blue Cross Blue Shield beneficiaries using claims data from 2017–2024, comparing the pre-COVID (2017–Feb 2020) and post-COVID (July 2020–Dec 2024) periods. Key Findings:
The American Medical Association has unveiled a new Center for Digital Health and AI to ensure physicians help shape how artificial intelligence is developed and deployed in healthcare. The initiative comes after two years of research into AI use in clinical practice and growing physician concerns around data privacy, safety, liability, and workflow fit. Key goals of the center include: AMA leaders stressed that physicians must be “full partners throughout the AI lifecycle” to ensure tools are clinically valid, ethically sound, and aligned with patient care.
How are clinicians to preserve core clinical skills in an era of algorithmic assistance? As artificial intelligence (AI) assumes a growing role in clinical practice, concern is mounting that off-loading clinical tasks and reasoning will lead to loss of skills (deskilling), adopting errors or bias from AI (mis-skilling), or failure to achieve competence (never-skilling; figure). Evidence for such skill attrition has been seen with automated interpretation of electrocardiograms or radiological images. An observational study published earlier this year, however, sharpens this concern, suggesting that experienced colonoscopists lost some proficiency in colon polyp detection when routine AI support was switched off.