Curated GI articles July 15th, 2021:
Gastro Health vs. GI Alliance vs. PE GI Solutions: 7 comparisons to know
Gastro Health vs. GI Alliance vs. PE GI Solutions: 7 comparisons to know (Becker’s GI & Endoscopy)
Private equity-backed Gastro Health, GI Alliance and PE GI Solutions are major players in the gastroenterology industry. Here’s how the companies stack up across seven areas.
How digital pathways are changing healthcare (pharmaphorum)
Digital technologies are proving their value by allowing for better care, improved adherence and a more connected ecosystem between doctors, patients and pharma.
AGA Updates Recs For Refractory H. pylori Infection (Gastroenterology & Endoscopy News)
Patients who fail an initial regimen should receive an empirical trial of an appropriately tailored second regimen instead of going directly to susceptibility testing.
Women in Healthcare Are Paid Far Less Than Men, Study Shows (The Swaddle)
A new study found a “pronounced gender pay gap” in healthcare (includes gastroenterology), indicating the medical field isn’t immune from the disparities in pay across gender prevalent in society.
Private equity-backed GI practices: 6 recent updates (Becker’s GI & Endoscopy)
From securing a $90 million investment to expanding to Colorado, Southlake, Texas-based GI Alliance and Miami-based Gastro Health have had a busy month. Here are six recent updates from private equity-backed GI practices.
Obesity links to increased risk for Crohn’s disease (Healio)
Obesity correlated with an increased risk for older-age onset Crohn’s disease but not ulcerative colitis, according to research published in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.
PPIs Could Be Bad News for Oral Cancer Therapies (Medscape)
GIs may want to be mindful of prescribing PPIs for patients with cancer because they may adversely affect concomitant oral therapies.
Ryan Ungaro, MD: Managing IBD During COVID-19 (HCP Live)
A trio of clinicians recently came together to present data and expertise on a variety of issues related to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) treatments.
Geisinger partners with EarlySign for AI algorithms to spot chronic disease (Healthcare IT News)
A multi-year agreement with the machine learning company will start with a tool to identify high-risk GI patients, eventially expanding to other high-burden diseases.
The effectiveness of using an abdominal binder during colonoscopy (Taylor & Francis Online)
In this study, the effectiveness of using an abdominal binder (AB) during colonoscopy on procedure time and colonoscopy outcomes was investigated.
Medicare Proposes Direct Payments to PAs, Telehealth Expansion (Medscape)
Medicare intends next year to allow physician assistants (PAs) to begin directly billing for their work and to expand coverage of telehealth services.
Double trouble: a pandemic of obesity and COVID-19 (The Lancet)
Obesity has emerged as a strong risk factor for severe disease during the COVID-19 pandemic; several studies have shown that individuals with COVID-19 and obesity have an increased risk of severe disease.
CMS aims to end coinsurance when CRC screenings become diagnostic tests by 2030 (Becker’s GI & Endoscopy)
CMS plans to phase out coinsurance for colorectal cancer screenings when physicians identify a polyp for removal, which currently are categorized as diagnostic tests.
COVID-19 in gastroenterology and hepatology: Where will we be? (Wiley Online Library)
The COVID-19 pandemic showed us there is a great potential to optimize our communication with patients and to increase efficacy of triage when faced with limited endoscopy services.
Trial Data May Signal Paradigm Shift In GERD, Esophageal Illnesses (Gastroenterology & Endoscopy News)
Many esophageal diseases, including gastroesophageal reflux, appear to be driven by a dysregulated esophageal microbiome, new research indicates.
Q&A: Addressing the unmet need for equitable health care access (Healio)
Despite representing 13% of the general population, Black physicians are few in the field of gastroenterology and hepatology (> 4%) and accounted for less than 7% of the medical student population.
Latest Multi-Society Reprocessing Guidelines Aim to Follow the Evidence (Gastroenterology & Endoscopy News)
Increased research on reprocessing of endoscopes triggered by infectious outbreaks related to contaminated duodenoscopes since 2014 provided data for the guidelines authors to develop a comprehensive document.
Malnutrition persistent in patients with COVID-19 at 3- and 6-months post-infection (Healio)
3,229 of the hospitalized patients with COVID-19 had GI manifestations and 715 patients had 788 distinct GI manifestations and 3 and/or 6 months outpatient follow up data post-discharge.
Did Getting a Colonoscopy Lead to Cleaner Living? (MedPage Today)
Individuals who underwent endoscopic screenings said they started to live a healthier lifestyle afterwards, especially for those with severe findings, researchers found.
Severe food avoidance, restriction reduces quality of life in IBS (Healio)
Patients with IBS who engaged in severe food avoidance and restriction experienced more severe IBS symptoms and a reduced quality of life, according to study results.
Can Gut Changes Predict Celiac Disease? (Medscape)
Changes in the gut microbiome are present in infants at risk of developing celiac disease (CD) long before they actually develop the disease, a finding that may pave the way for novel treatment and prevention strategies.
Disease Surveillance With Every Flush: Introducing the Smart Toilet (Gastroenterology & Endoscopy News)
Toilets enabled with AI can analyze stool samples for signs of acute or chronic gastrointestinal disease, such as bleeding, infections or even inflammatory bowel disease.
Fecal Transplantation, Boosted by Fiber, Improves Insulin in Obesity (Medscape)
New research shows that a noninvasive approach ― with an oral capsule formulation ― combined with fiber supplementation significantly improved insulin sensitivity among those with severe obesity and metabolic syndrome.
Geneoscopy Enrolls First Patients in CRC-PREVENT U.S. Pivotal Trial (PR Newswire)
Initial clinical study demonstrated high sensitivity of its multifactor RNA-FIT assay compared with colonoscopy findings, demonstrating 95% sensitivity for colorectal cancer and 62% sensitivity for advanced adenomas.
NEC’s AI Supports Doctors to Determine If Colorectal Lesions Are Potentially Neoplastic (Business Wire)
The Cx20 software connects and interacts with existing endoscopic equipment and automatically notifies users if a lesion is possibly neoplastic based on images captured during endoscopy procedures.
Will PPE Practices in Endoscopy Change Permanently After COVID-19? (Gastroenterology & Endoscopy News)
Will endoscopists keep their new habits when it comes to personal protective equipment (PPE) once the COVID-19 pandemic has ended? A survey of Canadian clinicians suggests they will.
Phoenix hospital adds AI-powered colonoscopy system (Becker’s GI & Endoscopy)
The Cancer Treatment Centers of America Phoenix implemented Medtronic’s GI Genius. The artificial intelligence device helps detect polyps during colonoscopies.
FDA advisory committee unanimously agrees donor liver portable system is safe, effective (Healio)
The FDA voted unanimously that a portable system for near-normothermic continuous perfusion of donor livers with perfusate was safe and effective.
More Hot headlines in GI
Coming of age: AI in GI endoscopy, impact on optical diagnosis and training
(ESGE Endoscopy)
Unlocking the ‘gut microbiome’ – and its massive significance to our health
(The Guardian)
UnitedHealth reports $4.3B in profit in Q2, down from massive Q2 2020 haul
(Fierce Healthcare)
Update 2021: COVID-19 from the perspective of gastroenterology (PubMed)
52 Women-Led Startups Driving The Future Of HealthTech And FemTech (Forbes)
[Podcast] To End Burnout, Doctors Must Change the Culture of Medicine (Medscape)
The Most Famous Artist Mints First NFT from Human Fecal Matter to Fund Gut-Brain Research Grant (PR Newswire)
ProciseDx Raises $13M to Commercialize Point-of-Care Platform, GI Tests (GenomeWeb)
[VIDEO] Older IBD patients use more aminosalicylate monotherapy (Healio)
Microsoft taps Teladoc to integrate telehealth into Teams app (Fierce Healthcare)
Managing Fatigue in IBD Patients Is Crucial for Quality of Life (MedPage Today)
CMS announces new director for Center of Medicare (Healthcare Finance)
CrossBridge Health acquires Geisinger-developed PACER software (PR Newswire)
Health systems-backed Truveta closes $95M to fund its data analysis platform
(Fierce Healthcare)
Gut Microbiome Affected by Genetics More Than Once Thought (Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News)
Should we trust big tech with our health data? (BBC)
FDA: Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine tied to Guillain-Barré syndrome (Healio)
Dr. Atul Gawande is Biden’s pick for global health position (Becker’s Hospital Review)
Videos: Interviews with GI Leaders (NextServices)
COVID-19: The Way Forward for Gastroenterology Practices