At the 2025 FOOD the Main Course conference in Ann Arbor, experts including Dr. William Chey, Kate Scarlata, and Amanda Lynett joined Tuesday Night IBS hosts for a live crossover podcast. The discussion explored how diet influences the microbiome, the importance of collaborative peer-to-peer learning, and the growing integration of dietitians in GI care. Topics included stress–diet connections in IBS, rising constipation rates, colectomy decision-making, and the impact of GLP-1 therapies on gut health. Speakers emphasized filtering online misinformation and fostering a supportive community for patients and providers alike.
Author: Abhay Panchal
A new study of 1,000+ hospital acquisitions over 19 years challenges the common belief that private equity harms hospitals: PE-owned hospitals were no more likely to close, maintained quality of care, and restored staffing levels for clinicians after initial cuts. The biggest, lasting change was a 20–30% reduction in administrative staff and wages, especially in nonprofits, while clinical wages held steady. Patient outcomes (mortality, readmissions) did not worsen, though colonoscopy prices rose nearly 30% due to ACA’s zero cost-sharing policy. Researchers argue PE often rescues struggling hospitals by improving efficiency, exploiting policy loopholes, and boosting marketability—potentially benefiting taxpayers and patients…
Coaching, widely used in business and sports, is gaining traction in medical education as a way to help trainees reach their full potential. Unlike teaching or mentoring, coaching is trainee-centered—focusing on self-reflection, goal setting, and problem-solving rather than direct instruction. In gastroenterology fellowships, coaching improves performance (procedural/clinical skills), development (leadership, identity, time management), well-being (reducing burnout, boosting resilience), and remediation (leveraging strengths to overcome challenges). By combining behavior modification and mindset coaching, fellows learn technical skills while also addressing beliefs and coping strategies that influence performance. Implementation, however, requires investment in faculty training, program structure, and protected time. Group coaching…
Dr. Michael Dragutsky, a Memphis gastroenterologist and founder of Gastro One, warns that falling Medicare physician payments—down over 30% after inflation in two decades—are pushing small practices toward consolidation or closure, especially in rural Tennessee. Rising costs for staff, equipment, and operations are colliding with stagnant reimbursements, leaving independent groups struggling to survive. When practices fold into hospital systems, patients pay more for the same procedures, while Medicare spending also rises. Dragutsky highlights the bipartisan Medicare Patient Access and Practice Stabilization Act, which would reverse 2025 cuts and tie future payments to the Medicare Economic Index, ensuring fair adjustments that…
Guardant Health announced updated clinical results for its Shield™ blood test, showing 84% sensitivity and 90% specificity for detecting colorectal cancer (CRC) with its new V2 algorithm, including 62% sensitivity in stage I disease. The findings, validated in an expanded ECLIPSE study cohort, met all primary endpoints and highlighted robust early-stage detection (100% sensitivity in stage II and IV). Shield remains the first and only FDA-approved blood test for primary CRC screening in average-risk adults and was recently added to NCCN guidelines. The platform is also being expanded into multi-cancer detection.
Belgium-based MRM Health secured €55M ($64M) in Series B financing, led by Biocodex, to fund a Phase 2b trial of MH002, its six-strain microbial consortium for ulcerative colitis, and to expand its microbiome pipeline. Early Phase 2a trials in ulcerative colitis and pouchitis showed MH002 was safe and hinted at meaningful efficacy, with remission rates up to 46%. Built on the CORAL® platform, MH002 benefits from a unique single-substance manufacturing process, ensuring consistent dosing and regulatory scalability. The financing also includes a strategic collaboration with Biocodex to bolster development and production of live biotherapeutics.
Patients are increasingly sharing stool photos with gastroenterologists to better describe symptoms that words may obscure. While sometimes awkward, these images provide valuable clinical context — especially in cases like GI bleeding where accuracy is critical. Research now shows stool photos can support AI models in predicting inflammation, and even “smart toilets” are being tested to classify stool automatically. Together, these tools highlight how patient-driven documentation and technology could reshape diagnosis, monitoring, and engagement in GI care. Key Takeaways
Optum subsidiary SCA Health, one of the largest ASC operators in the U.S., has expanded its reach with the acquisition of Exton, Pa.-based U.S. Digestive Health in early 2025. The deal adds significant scale to Optum’s portfolio. U.S. Digestive Health includes more than 250 gastroenterology providers across 40 practice sites and 24 ASCs in Pennsylvania and Delaware. The organization itself was formed in 2019 through the consolidation of three regional gastroenterology groups, backed by private equity investment. Five ASC and GI leaders joined Becker’s to discuss their thoughts on the sale
Advances in imaging, battery life, and AI are fueling a resurgence of capsule endoscopy as a patient-friendly alternative to traditional endoscopy. Once limited by low diagnostic yield, today’s capsule technologies—like Medtronic’s AI-powered PillCam and CapsoVision’s CapsoCam—now deliver sensitivity and specificity rates approaching 100%. With FDA clearances for remote ingestion, the technology is expanding access to rural, pediatric, and mobility-limited populations. While capsule endoscopy remains purely diagnostic for now, it’s gaining traction as a cost-effective, minimally invasive option that could reduce unnecessary endoscopies, improve efficiency, and pave the way for hybrid therapeutic applications in the future. Key Takeaways
A UCLA-led study published in Gastroenterology found that fewer than 50% of average-risk adults with abnormal results from Guardant Health’s Shield blood-based colorectal cancer screening test underwent a follow-up colonoscopy within 6 months. Overall, just 56% eventually completed colonoscopy, limiting the test’s effectiveness in cancer prevention. Insurance status mattered: patients with Medicare Advantage were significantly less likely to receive timely follow-up than those with private insurance. Researchers stressed that abnormal blood-based results still require colonoscopy and called for system-level improvements to boost compliance. Key Takeaways