The prior authorization approval process consumes valuable physician and staff time, costs physician practices money, and may negatively impact patients by delaying much-needed treatment. Prior authorization costs doctors across the country $23 billion annually. The Improving Seniors Timely Access to Care Act reduces cost by streamlining the process and increasing transparency. AGA members met with federal lawmakers during AGA Advocacy Day and their staff to talk about prior authorization — among other AGA priorities. This had an almost immediate effect. Shortly after the event, The Improving Seniors Timely Access to Care Act jumped to 219 cosponsors, greatly advancing the House…
Author: Praveen Suthrum
The Digestive Health Physicians Association (DHPA) has surpassed 100 members, adding eight independent practices to its roster since January. DHPA now represents 104 independent GI practices in 39 states with more than 2400 physicians who provide care for more than three million people annually. DHPA added member practices in eight states, and added Utah as its 39th state, with the following practices joining the organization:
From studies on colorectal cancer risk factors to research on outpatient colonoscopies, here are nine recent studies catching the eyes of gastroenterologists: 1. Freenome’s novel multiomics blood test for colorectal cancer detected advanced adenomas with a 41 percent sensitivity at 90 percent specificity, according to results from its Ai-Emerge study. 2. Patients who received an outpatient colonoscopy seldom go to the emergency room for unplanned complications, and of those who do it’s often for reasons unrelated to the procedure, according to a study published in Clinical and Experimental Gastroenterology.
Neurogastroenterology is a subspecialty of gastroenterology that overlaps with neurology. The enteric nervous system is a collection of neurones that can function independently of the central nervous system (CNS). This article discusses the neurologic manifestations of gastroenterological disorders as well as significant gastroenterological manifestations of neurologic disorders. The CNS plays a role in the pathogenesis of some gastrointestinal disorders. Management depends on the individual disorder. Some general approaches to treatment of various gastrointestinal manifestations of neurologic disease are outlined in this article. Among the specialized procedures in development, transplantation of neural stem cells is a promising therapeutic approach for disorders…
Colonoscopy is one of the true success stories in modern medicine. Studies have demonstrated that colonoscopy screening detects the cancer at a much earlier stage, reducing the risk of invasive tumors and metastatic disease, and reducing mortality. However, while colorectal cancer is highly preventable, it is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the U.S. About 148,000 individuals develop the malignancy and over 53,000 die from it each year. We asked ourselves a question: can AI improve the detection of this and related gastrointestinal disorders?
Dive Brief: After cancer screenings for breast and colon cancers plummeted at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, they rebounded by the end of July, according to a new report in the Journal of General Internal Medicine that analyzed the private insurance claims of 6.8 million people ages 45 to 64.In fact, the rate of women seeking mammograms was higher by the end of July than in the months leading up to the pandemic. Prior to mid-March, or when the public health crisis began, the median weekly rate of mammogram screenings were 87.8 women per 10,000 beneficiaries. That figure improved to 88.2…
Many gastroenterologists are worried about a physician shortage and colonoscopy backlogs in the coming years. Eight leaders in gastroenterology spoke with Becker’s ASC Review about these threats and others they perceive to be the biggest in the industry. Editor’s note: These responses were edited lightly for clarity and brevity. Question: What are the biggest threats to gastroenterology? Vonda Reeves, MD. Gastroenterologist at GI Associates & Endoscopy Center (Flowood, Miss.): An increasing inability to meet the needs of the population, as more and more aging GI doctors leave practice. Supply will now meet the demand. A second concern is the role…
The special issue of AJG focuses on emerging concepts in gastroenterology and hepatology and includes updated ACG Clinical Guidelines on the Management of Benign Anorectal Disorders.
Colonoscopy is an important weapon in the fight against colon cancer, which killed 51,000 Americans in 2019, making it the nation’s second-deadliest cancer. But doctors’ ability to catch polyps on the colonoscopy screen varies — sometimes significantly. Last month, a team led by physicians at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School showed that an AI-based computer-vision algorithm can improve the accuracy of screenings. The Gazette spoke with Tyler Berzin, a gastroenterologist and associate professor of medicine, about the findings, published in the journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology. The interview was edited for clarity and length.
MDVIP, the national leader in personalized membership-based healthcare, today announced that the Private Equity business within Goldman Sachs Asset Management (“Goldman Sachs”) and funds affiliated with Charlesbank Capital Partners (“Charlesbank”) have completed the acquisition of MDVIP from Leonard Green & Partners and Summit Partners. The transaction gives Goldman Sachs and Charlesbank majority ownership of the company. Financial terms were not disclosed. MDVIP leads the market in membership-based medicine with a national network of approximately 1,100 primary care physicians serving 362,000 patients. In the MDVIP model, doctors maintain smaller practices, which enables them to spend more time with patients and provide…