Gastro Health, a national leading medical group specializing in digestive and liver health, continues to expand its presence in the state of Ohio through their newly-announced partnership with Gastro-Intestinal Associates, Inc., effective October 1, 2021. Gastro-Intestinal Associates Inc. consists of a main office in Lima, Ohio and six other surrounding satellite locations throughout Northwestern Ohio in the cities of Ada, Bluffton, Celina, Delphos, Glandorf, and Van Wert. The practice also includes an infusion center and an ambulatory surgery center – The Endoscopy Center of West Central Ohio – which has been recognized by The American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE)…
Author: Praveen Suthrum
Thirty percent of physicians said that prior authorizations have led to a serious adverse event for a patient in their care, according to research released April 7 by the American Medical Association. The American Medical Association surveyed 1,000 practicing physicians in December. Below are seven of the survey’s notable findings: Ninety-four percent of physicians said the prior authorization process delays patients’ access to necessary care. Thirty-nine percent said the prior authorization process often delays access to necessary care, and 15 percent said it always does. Ninety percent of physicians said prior authorizations have a negative effect on patients’ clinical outcomes.
Abstract The incidence of esophageal cancer (EC) is on the rise. With the distinct subtypes of adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma comes specific risk factors, and as a result, people of certain regions of the world can be more prone to a subtype. For example, squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus has the highest incidence in eastern Africa and eastern Asia, with smoking being a major risk factor, whereas adenocarcinoma is more prevalent in North America and western Europe, with gastroesophageal reflux disease being a leading risk factor. With that being said, adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma have similar and…
CRH Medical acquired the remaining 25 percent interest in Gainesville, Ga.-based Lake Lanier Anesthesia Associates, which CRH obtained 75 percent of in June 2020.
More than a year into the pandemic, the United States is at yet another critical inflection point. The number of Covid-19 cases remains high and is on the rise in more than half of states. And though vaccination rates are climbing here, topping 4 million shots on April 3 alone, we are in a race between vaccinations and the proliferation of viral variants, which continue to spread and may be even more dangerous than the coronavirus that triggered the pandemic. The country must drastically improve genomic surveillance of Covid-19 cases, which is not happening often enough. Viruses mutate as they multiply and spread. Genomic sequencing is an advanced…
Dive Brief:
At least five gastroenterologists or GI innovators were appointed to leadership positions in the first quarter of 2021. Here are five GI leaders who have been named to leadership positions in the first quarter.
COVID-19 forced providers to think about the balance between protecting patients from unnecessary exposure while ensuring they could still access needed services. For UnitedHealth Group’s OptumCare unit, that meant pivoting to providing care in the home as much as possible and scaling up programs previously targeting small groups of patients unable to see docs in person. One such effort boosted in-home screenings for colon cancer by three times, with 100,000 tests sent to patients’ homes last year under the pandemic, Daniel Frank, M.D., chief medical officer at OptumCare, told Fierce Healthcare in an interview.
A national NHS trial will see patients in England given edible miniature cameras to check for signs of colon cancer. The Pillcam Colon 2 technology, from US medical device firm Medtronic, takes images as it passes through the bowel which are transmitted to a recording device worn by the patient at their waist. After the camera has passed through the body it can be flushed away. An initial group of 11,000 patients in more than 40 areas in England will receive the capsules, which can replace a traditional endoscopy and provide a diagnosis within hours. Pillcams are already being used the endoscopy team at…
UnitedHealthcare, one of the nation’s largest health insurers, is being sued in two states by a large group of anesthesiologists who are accusing the company of stifling competition by forcing the doctors out of its network and by using its enormous clout to pressure hospitals and surgeons to stop referring patients to them. The lawsuits, filed Wednesday in Colorado and Texas, were brought by U.S. Anesthesia Partners, a sizable physician-owned practice backed by private-equity investors. The practice claims in the Texas lawsuit that United engaged in “unlawful tactics and pressure campaigns,” including “bribing” surgeons with contracts that paid them much…