This transcript has been edited for clarity. For more episodes, download the Medscape app or subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred podcast provider. Lin Chang, MD: Hello. I’m Dr Lin Chang and welcome to Medscape’s InDiscussion series on irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Today we’ll be discussing brain-gut behavior, research, and treatment in IBS with Dr Laurie Keefer. Dr Keefer is an academic health psychologist and the director of Psychobehavioral Research within the Division of Gastroenterology at Mt Sinai. Welcome to InDiscussion. Thank you, Laurie, for being with us here today. We’re very excited for this session. You are the leading expert on this.…
Author: Rutali Thakur
It has been a prolific year in eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) research, particularly of high-impact clinical trials that will undoubtedly alter the current management paradigm. At the AGA postgraduate course in May, we highlighted recent noteworthy randomized controlled trials (RCT) using eosinophil-targeting biologic therapy, esophageal-optimized corticosteroid preparations, and dietary elimination in EoE.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have released proposed payment rules for physician services and facility fees for calendar year 2024. The GI societies are disappointed and concerned to see a proposed cut to reimbursement. Watch for alerts on our advocacy efforts and how you can help. The proposed rules also included positive news, including increased facility fees, new codes to increase health equity, and telemedicine reimbursement.
CMS suggested a 3.34 percent conversion factor decrease in its proposed Medicare physician fee schedule for 2024. Two gastroenterologists connected with Becker’s to discuss their thoughts on the proposal. Note: These responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity. Stephen Amann, MD. Gastroenterologist at Digestive Health Specialists (Tupelo, Miss.): Unfortunately, CMS continues to focus on cuts to the front-line providers for Medicare recipients. I am certainly cognizant of the general financial pressure on CMS and Medicare, but fulfilling their promises on the back of the providers is problematic. These cuts continue to undermine physician practice’s ability to provide access and care to the Medicare…
Exton, Pennsylvania, July 18, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Data from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) suggests just over seventy percent of American adults are overweight, including 40% being clinically obese. Nearly twenty percent of children are obese, rising from 12% of those 2-5 years of age to over 22% of those 12-19 years of age. Analysis from the NIH identified the origin of the US obesity epidemic starting in the late seventies, when the prevalence was roughly 15%, rising steadily through the turn of the century to 30% and continuing to present day. Worldwide, the rise of obesity has seen similar…
A Bethany, Okla., resident is suing Oklahoma City-based Integris Health, alleging that the system allowed third parties to take personal patient healthcare information for advertising purposes, according to a July 14 report from The Oklahoman. The class-action suit filed this week claims companies including Meta, Google, Microsoft and Reddit gained personal information from patients who used Integris’ website to learn about physicians, services, health conditions and treatment options.
In my more than 30-year career as a registered dietitian in gastroenterology, it has been exciting to see the role of dietitians in gastrointestinal conditions become validated and expanded upon, most markedly over the past 10 years. As credentialed food and nutrition experts, dietitians play a powerful role in the care of GI patients. This makes sense — food first meets our body via the GI tract and is essential for life. Adequate, well-balanced nutrition is vital to our well-being, gut function and gut microbiota, and also improves health outcomes and GI symptom management.
TOPLINE: The predictive value of the multitarget stool DNA (mt-sDNA) test is unaffected by the presence of known colorectal cancer (CRC) risk factors, suggesting it could be used in patients at increased risk for CRC. METHODOLOGY:
DALLAS, July 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ –A GI Alliance, the nation’s premier gastroenterology management organization, is expanding its Connecticut footprint through a partnership with Coastal Digestive Care Center. This partnership is a joint venture with four Connecticut Gastroenterology (CTGI) physician owners. These physicians and their CTGI colleagues will continue to provide care at this location. The GI-focused ambulatory surgery center “ASC” includes 2 endoscopy suites and is the first ASC partnership for GI Alliance in Connecticut. GI Alliance partnered with CTGI in January of 2023, the largest independent gastroenterology practice in the state.
The American Antitrust Institute (AAI), in collaboration with the University of California at Berkeley (UCB) Petris Center on Health Care Markets and Consumer Welfare, and the Washington Center for Equitable Growth (Equitable Growth), announced the release of a new report on private equity ownership in healthcare. The report, Monetizing Medicine: Private Equity and Competition in Physician Practice Markets, highlights private equity’s voracious acquisition of physician practices over the last several years. The analysis evaluates market penetration across 10 physician practice specialties within markets across the U.S., the impact on market shares and concentration, and on prices and expenditures.