A House Energy and Commerce health subcommittee hearing on Sept. 15 examined the Patients First Act of 2026 and four related bills addressing Medicare physician payment, budget neutrality, MIPS, practice expenses, and healthcare cybersecurity. The Patients First Act would link annual Medicare physician fee schedule updates to inflation through the Medicare Economic Index (MEI), rather than the current fixed updates under MACRA. Starting in 2027, the proposed formula would set updates at MEI minus 1 percentage point for clinicians outside advanced APMs, with qualifying APM participants receiving an additional 0.5 percentage point. The proposals would also modify budget neutrality, including…
Author: Rutali Thakur
An FDA advisory committee has voted in favor of approving GRAIL’s Galleri multi-cancer early detection (MCED) test, marking a significant regulatory development for blood-based cancer screening. The 10-member Molecular and Clinical Genetics Devices Panel voted 7–2, with one abstention, that the test’s benefits outweigh its risks. The committee voted unanimously in favor of safety and 6–4 in favor of effectiveness. Galleri uses cancer-specific methylation patterns in blood to detect signals from multiple cancer types and predict the likely tissue of origin. It is designed to be used alongside, rather than replace, existing guideline-recommended screening tests. GRAIL says its clinical studies…
MIT researchers have developed tiny batteries made from biocompatible materials that can safely break down in the gastrointestinal tract after powering ingestible devices. The batteries use magnesium and molybdenum trioxide electrodes and an ionic-liquid gel electrolyte, generating 1.84 volts. They function normally for about three days before gradually degrading and breaking down completely within a few weeks. The researchers demonstrated two applications. One battery powered an ingestible capsule that delivers electrical stimulation to the stomach; in animal testing, 20 minutes of stimulation increased ghrelin levels by about 50%. The technology could potentially support therapies for conditions involving nausea or appetite…
A new review in Gastroenterology examines the current and emerging treatment landscape for obesity, covering anti-obesity medications, endoscopic bariatric and metabolic therapies, and bariatric surgery. The authors note that while lifestyle therapy alone generally produces modest weight loss, newer pharmacologic, endoscopic, and surgical approaches can produce substantially greater weight loss. The review also focuses on a major implementation challenge: despite the availability of effective therapies, obesity treatment remains limited by cost, inadequate insurance coverage, and insufficient access to clinicians who can prescribe medications or perform endoscopic and surgical procedures. The authors argue that gastroenterologists are particularly well positioned to help…
Gastroenterology & Hepatology of Central New York is notifying patients about a cybersecurity incident that resulted in unauthorized access to its network and exfiltration of files. The practice identified the incident on March 6, 2026 and engaged cybersecurity and digital forensics specialists to investigate. The affected files contained patients’ names, addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth, Social Security numbers and medical record numbers. Patients were notified on September 17, with complimentary credit monitoring and identity-theft protection offered. The number of affected individuals has not yet been disclosed, and the incident was not listed on the HHS Office for Civil Rights…
AI adoption in gastroenterology is expanding across clinical decision support, colonoscopy, documentation and evidence review, but gastroenterologists interviewed by Medscape emphasize that implementation needs to keep pace with validation and safeguards. The article highlights Nigel, the AGA’s GI-specific AI assistant, which is built around AGA guidelines and the GRADE evidence framework and was reviewed by GI and liver experts. AI-assisted colonoscopy is another established use case. CADe systems such as GI Genius can highlight potential polyps in real time and have been associated with higher detection of precancerous lesions. However, clinicians raise concerns about deskilling, automation bias, inaccurate or outdated…
A Cleveland Clinic study of more than 45,000 scheduled outpatient endoscopic procedures found substantial rates of last-minute cancellations and no-shows, particularly at a tertiary academic center. Among 34,129 procedures scheduled at the academic site, 30.2% were canceled within seven days or resulted in a no-show, compared with 18.0% at a community-based endoscopy unit. The analysis identified several factors associated with missed procedures. At the academic center, every 10-point increase in the Area Deprivation Index (ADI) was associated with 33% higher adjusted odds of cancellation. Medicaid coverage was also associated with higher cancellation odds, while colonoscopy had higher cancellation odds than…
Five-year follow-up from the PROFILE randomized trial found that starting anti-TNF therapy immediately after diagnosis was associated with substantially better long-term outcomes than a conventional step-up approach in adults with newly diagnosed, moderate-to-severe Crohn’s disease. Among 386 randomized patients, those assigned to top-down treatment with infliximab plus an immunomodulator had fewer Crohn’s-related abdominal surgeries: 6 patients (3%) vs. 26 (13%) in the step-up group. The adjusted hazard ratio for surgery was 5.23, favoring top-down treatment. Top-down treatment was also associated with lower rates of disease progression to stricturing or penetrating complications (7% vs. 17%) and Crohn’s-related hospitalization (11% vs. 21%).…
Guardant Health’s Shield blood test has already been used by hundreds of thousands of people since its 2025 launch, with the company targeting millions of tests as it works to reach the estimated 54 million Americans who are unscreened or overdue for colorectal cancer screening. The test is increasingly being offered to patients hesitant about colonoscopy, and more than half of those who test positive have gone on to complete a follow-up colonoscopy. But the next challenge is improving what blood-based screening can detect. In the pivotal study, Shield missed 16.9% of colorectal cancers and had just 13.2% sensitivity for…
An AI-powered Red Density (RD) Score that measures colonic mucosal redness at the pixel level predicted long-term clinical outcomes in patients with ulcerative colitis who were in remission. In the prospective PROCEED-UC study of 176 patients across 10 academic centers, those who later experienced clinical failure had significantly higher baseline RD scores than those who remained in remission (52.94 vs. 32.71; P=0.033). A baseline RD score of 63 or higher was associated with clinical failure, with the tool achieving an AUC of 0.82 (P<0.0001). The score also showed moderate correlations with established histologic measures of inflammation, suggesting that AI-based image…