Hello. I’m Dr David Johnson, professor of medicine and chief of gastroenterology at Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, Virginia. Diverticulitis has been the subject of a number of recent guidelines [1,2,3] and evidence-based best practice recommendations from the American Gastroenterological Association. There’s a consensus that antibiotics should be reserved for patients who really need them, and their routine use in uncomplicated diverticulitis is no longer recommended. Antibiotics should be considered for patients considered high risk, meaning those who are immunocompromised; have increased C-reactive protein values (> 140 mg/L) or white blood cell count (> 15,000); have evidence on a CT scan of long segment involvement (≥…
Author: Praveen Suthrum
In this video exclusive, Elliot B. Tapper, MD, from the University of Michigan, gave advice to incoming hepatologists looking to become disruptive innovators within the field. Tapper won the Rising Disruptive Innovator award, one of several Disruptive Innovator awards given by Healio Gastroenterology to physicians pushing the status quo toward the betterment of gastroenterology and liver diseases. Tapper won for his boundary pushing work in hepatology.
In March, the gastroenterology community comes together to raise awareness about one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers in the United States, colorectal cancer. During Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, health care providers and others aim to educate the public about this preventable disease and promote early screening initiatives. Healio Gastroenterology compiled some of our most recent reports on CRC. VIDEO: Text message program offers support to patients diagnosed with CRC In an exclusive video, Healio Gastroenterology spoke with Brian Dooreck, MD, of Gastrointestinal Diagnostic Centers in Pembroke Pines, Fla., about the colorectal cancer provider outreach program, or CRC POP.
Join us Wednesday, March 10, at 7:30 p.m. EST for the first Town Hall with the AGA President of the year, COVID-19: What We Know and Can Predict. AGA President Dr. Bishr Omary will host a live Q&A discussion with leaders from American Society for Microbiology and Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy on COVID-19 vaccines, emerging testing modalities, virus variants and immunity. The town hall is a part of the GI Forging Forward webinar series, a practical educational training program covering timely topics for GIs through the lens of COVID-19.
Retail chains including CVS Health, Walmart and Walgreens are using the data they collect from millions of customers who sign up for COVID-19 vaccines to better tailor their marketing efforts and promote their stores and services, according to a March 2 Wall Street Journall report. Five details: 1. The retail giants are able to gather information from their customers when they register for shots and enroll in their patient systems. In addition to marketing efforts, the data also help streamline vaccinations and improve record keeping, the companies said. 2. CVS executives told the Journal said the company plans to stay in touch with vaccine…
The COVID-19 pandemic changed the growth trajectory of many healthcare organizations in the last 12 months, but there were still major ASC acquisitions and partnerships. Six interesting ASC deals: 1. Surgical Care Affiliates acquired Lakewood, Colo.-based Pinnacle III in early 2020, shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic began shutting down surgery centers across the U.S. Pinnacle III was founded in 1999 and has more than 40 surgery centers in its network. Former Pinnacle III CEO Rob Carrera became vice president of operations of Surgical Care Affiliates after the acquisition.
In the quest for mentorship, we often seek individuals like ourselves — mentors who look like us, think like us, or have a common life experience. While learning from mentors who share similar perspectives is critical for personal growth and career development, I suspect that this inherent tendency contributes to the lack of diversity we witness in medicine and scientific research.
In an exclusive interview with Healio Gastroenterology, Richard Finn, MD, discussed the results from a recent study of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma treated with combination therapy comprising atezolizumab, an immunotherapy drug and monoclonal antibody, and bevacizumab, another monoclonal antibody against the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). The data presented at the Digital Liver Cancer Summit 2021 was an update to a trial initially published with 8.6-months follow-up published in The New England Journal of Medicine. Finn, professor in the department of medicine, division of hematology/oncology, director of signal transduction and therapeutics program at the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer at the Geffen School of Medicine at University…
A hospital’s digital front door is an essential part of its strategy to engage patients throughout each point of their healthcare journey using technology they have already integrated into their everyday lives. Below, seven executives from hospitals and health systems across the country discuss the importance of their organization’s digital front door and what strategies went into the building of their websites. Editor’s note: Responses have been lightly edited for clarity and style. Nick Ragone, executive vice president and chief marketing officer, Ascension (St. Louis): As a unified consumer brand, Ascension is delivering on our promise of compassionate, personalized care, as…
Lynch syndrome may be the most common cause of hereditary colorectal cancer, but it often goes undetected. A short questionnaire can help. A group at a busy gastroenterology office at the University of British Columbia found that by administering the brief survey, they could significantly boost their identification of patients with Lynch syndrome. The instrument, called the Colorectal Cancer Risk Assessment Tool, was developed by Fay Kastrinos, MD, the director of the Gastrointestinal High Risk and Prevention Program at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, and her colleagues. Lynch syndrome may occur in as many as one in…