Author: Praveen Suthrum

The reasons gastroenterologists leave clinical practice for industry vary, but there appears to be a common thread: By working with pharmaceutical or medical device companies, they potentially can help far more patients than they could ever treat in person. Austin Chiang, MD, MPH, was only four years out of training when the president of Medtronic’s gastroenterology division called him to discuss a chief medical officer position. An assistant professor at Sidney Kimmel Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University, in Philadelphia, with fellowships in gastroenterology, bariatric endoscopy and advanced endoscopy, Dr. Chiang had never considered going into industry before that phone…

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ATLANTA, May 24, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — United Digestive, a physician practice management company focused on gastroenterology, today announced its expansion of therapeutic gastroenterology services in the coastal Georgia region with the addition of new provider, Dr. Daniel K. Mullady. Dr. Mullady will merge his practice with UD’s existing member group, the Center for Digestive & Liver Health (CDLH) in Savannah, Ga.

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Colonoscopies performed with computer-aided detection, or artificial intelligence (AI), saw an increase in the overall rate of detection of adenoma, or cancerous and precancerous polyps, by 27 percent in average-risk patients, according to new data presented today at the Digestive Disease Week Annual Meeting. The results of the prospective, randomized, multicenter study, led by clinician–scientist Aasma Shaukat, MD, MPH, at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, and published online May 25 in the journal Gastroenterology, found that when AI was used during a screening colonoscopy, the adenoma per colonoscopy rate increased significantly by 22 percent, from 0.82 to 1.05 percent.

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As artificial intelligence (AI) technology in the gastrointestinal field continues to advance, speakers at Digestive Disease Week 2022 discussed how these tools can be put into practice to improve efficiency, reduce physician burnout, and reap cost savings. As artificial intelligence (AI) technology in the gastrointestinal field continues to advance, speakers at Digestive Disease Week 2022 discussed how these tools can be put into practice to improve efficiency, reduce physician burnout, and reap cost savings.

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For surveillance of patients with cirrhosis, a novel blood test found more hepatocellular carcinoma at an early stage than ultrasound, according to a modeling study presented at the 2022 ASCO Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium. Clinical guidelines recommend ultrasound with or without the serum biomarker alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) for the surveillance of individuals at risk for HCC, but only about one-fourth of patients adhere to this practice, according to investigator Jagpreet Chhatwal, PhD. Only one-third of patients who develop HCC are diagnosed before developing symptoms, added Dr. Chhatwal, the director of the Institute for Technology Assessment at Massachusetts General Hospital and an assistant…

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By Ammar Hassan, MD Specialist in hepatology, gastroenterology and internal medicine for University of Michigan Health-West Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer in the United States and the second leading cause of death from cancers that affect both men and women. Even so, nearly one-third of eligible adults do not keep up with the recommended screenings that could save their lives. This is especially troubling amid trends we are seeing in colorectal cancer, including a sharp, unexplained increase in cancer among younger patients, racial disparities, and screenings being put off during the pandemic.

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