The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Cybersecurity Program issued an alert this week to healthcare providers warning them to guard against the “exceptionally aggressive” Hive ransomware group. The group has been known to be operational since June 2021 but in that time has been very aggressive in targeting the U.S. health sector, the federal agency said.
Author: Praveen Suthrum
Random biopsies could help detect dysplasia more frequently in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). A team, led by Dorukhan Bahceci, MD, University of California at San Francisco, Department of Pathology, investigated the rate and clinicopathologic features of dysplastic lesions found in total colectomy or proctocolectomy specimens undetected during a previous colonoscopy.
Diagnostic gastrointestinal endoscopy was associated with an excess of unexpected events requiring primary care consultation or emergency hospitalization, according to research in Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics. “There is reported to be inappropriate overuse of gastroscopy worldwide which is worryingly increasing over time. While the majority of endoscopy is perceived as safe, more than 10% of procedures are performed in those over 80 years of age, who have increasing levels of frailty and complex comorbidity, which may predispose them to adverse events,” Colin J Crooks, PhD, clinical associate professor at the University of Nottingham, and colleagues wrote.
Gastroenterology pay hit $500,400 in 2021, according to Doximity’s “2021 Physician Compensation Report,” released Dec. 16. Here are three stats to know on gastroenterology pay: 1. Gastroenterology pay increased 3 percent in the last year, from $485,817 to $500,400. 2. Pediatric gastroenterology salary hit $295,751 in 2021, a 5.4 percent increase from 2020. 3. Gastroenterology is the 10th highest-paid physician specialty.
Inflammatory bowel disease, or IBD, affects nearly 3.1 million Americans. The condition includes Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis and can be quite costly for its patients. “Not only are the symptoms associated with IBD significant, the clinical outcomes linked to the treatment of this disease are, as well,” said Jeffrey Berinstein, M.D., a gastroenterologist and clinical instructor at Michigan Medicine. “There is a lot of variation in how patients respond to specific forms of care, as well as high direct costs associated with the disease. IBD can be a very challenging condition to live with.”
Hello. I’m Dr David Johnson, professor of medicine and chief of gastroenterology at Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, Virginia. Barrett’s esophagus is something we all deal with in gastroenterology. Our primary care colleagues often refer patients to us for endoscopic screening. Depending on what we find, it can raise a host of questions about what to do next. Dr Nicholas Shaheen and his colleagues on the expert consensus group put together the new American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) guidelines on the diagnosis and management of Barrett’s esophagus. This is a nearly 30-page tome that is full of evidence-based recommendations, which I suggest…
Here are 10 physicians who specialize in gastroenterology to know: Note: This is not an exhaustive list. Physicians are listed in alphabetical order. To nominate a physician for future lists, please contact Riz Hatton at rhatton@beckershealthcare.com. Oksana Anand, MD. Rapid City (S.D.) Medical Center. Dr. Anand has a variety of special interests, including women’s GI health and inflammatory bowel disease. She has been a member of the American College of Gastroenterology since 2008.
In this issue of “Endoscopy Insights,” I focus on endoscopic mucosal resection, colorectal polyps and the safety of polypectomy. The first study supports prophylactic clip closure as a way to reduce the rate of clinically significant postprocedural bleeding after EMR of large, right-sided, nonpedunculated colorectal polyps. The second study found rectal nonpedunculated polyps tend to be larger, have more nodularity and villous architecture, and are associated with higher rates of high-grade dysplasia and cancer than nonrectal colonic polyps. Rectal nonpedunculated polyps can be removed with EMR, but the increased risk for invasive submucosal cancer should be kept in mind when…
Since March 2020, America’s focus has been on the pandemic. Most think the worst is past while fear of a new Omicron variant wave lingers. Since January 2022, the U.S. economy has eclipsed its 41-year record inflation rate (8.5% in March) and a decline in productivity: through the first 4 months of 2022, the S&P 500 is down 13% and the GDP has shrunk at an annualized rate of 1.4%. Suddenly, the pandemic is old news and inflation is the new news.
The FDA has granted breakthrough device designation to Precision-GI™ Endoscopic Ultrasound Biopsy Product, a tool that assists with performing a tumor biopsy, according to a press release by Limaca Medical. “Precision-GI is an automated, motorized endoscopic biopsy product that has the potential to improve our biopsy results for the evaluation of gastrointestinal malignancies. Endoscopic biopsy is a highly specialized, high-skill procedure. We welcome the innovation of Precision-GI™ which can provide automation and standardization of outcomes with less variation from operator to operator,” stated Seth A. Gross, MD, clinical chief, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, NYU Langone Health.