Curated GI articles Dec 17th, 2020: GI physicians urge COVID-19 vaccines for IBD | Hospital volumes fall again

Curated GI articles Dec 17th, 2020:
GI physicians urge COVID-19 vaccines for IBD | Hospital volumes fall again

Hospital Volumes Start to Fall Again, Even as COVID-19 Soars (Medscape)
Strata’s report, based on data from about 275 client hospitals, notes that what kept the volumes up was the increasing number of COVID-19 cases.

The Scope Forward podcast – Interview with Dr. Joe Rubinsztain, CEO & Co-Founder of ChronWell (Episode 8)
Now, listen to the interviews while you workout! Praveen Suthrum’s conversations with GI leaders are now available via the Scope Forward podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and elsewhere.

Colonoscopy Gets a Bad Rap … From Primary Care Providers  (Gastroenterology & Endoscopy News)
You know your patients would rather avoid colonoscopies, but did you know their primary care providers may be shaping their perceptions and behaviors?

GI Physicians Urge COVID-19 Vaccines for All IBD Patients (Medscape)
Miguel Regueiro, MD, chair of Gastroenterology & Hepatology at Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, said, “We’re uniformly recommending this to all our patients.”

Is Your Practice Ready for a COVID-19 Vaccine? (Medscape)
The US Food and Drug Administration on Friday authorized the nation’s first COVID-19 vaccine, one developed by Pfizer and BioNTech. Here’s a survey by Medscape.

FDA approves ointment for esophageal inflammation of EoE (EndPoints News)
“For too long, healthcare professionals have been without approved treatments developed specifically to target the chronic, localized esophageal inflammation of EoE,” said Asit Parikh, MD.

Avoiding and Managing Medical-Legal Risk in Colonoscopy (Gastroenterology & Endoscopy News)
This report reviews the medical-legal risk of colonoscopy and methods to limit potential malpractice suits.

Virtual Reality Augmenting Therapy in Gastroenterology and Beyond  (Medscape)
“There are now over 200 hospitals around the US using VR in some way, shape, or form. We hope that will grow significantly in time.”

New Medicare pass-through code supports adoption of single-use duodenoscopes (Becker’s GI & Endoscopy)
The pass-through code makes single-use duodenoscopes a financially viable alternative to reusable duodenoscopes.

Endoscopists Often Ignore Polypectomy Guidelines (Gastroenterology & Endoscopy News)
“The selection of polypectomy technique is affected by several factors, and it’s not clear whether the participation of GI fellows affects the quality of polypectomy,” Nehme said.

Most Favored Nation Regulation Could Upend The Rx Market (Life Science Leader)
Many providers are expected to be upside down, as the costs of acquiring the biologicals they seek to administer will greatly exceed Medicare reimbursement.

Congressional Committee Leaders Announce Surprise Billing Agreement  (Energy & Commerce House)
Legislation Will Protect Patients from Surprise Medical Bills and Establish Fair Framework to Resolve Disputes Between Providers and Insurers.

Partnering With Dietitians Can Bridge Gaps in IBD Care (Medscape)
Working with a registered dietitian (RD) can help ensure that changing the way patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) eat won’t deprive them of the nutrients they need.

USPSTF publishes HBV recommendation amid declines in screening, vaccination (Healio)
Experts said the recommendation is inadequate as it excludes patients who would benefit from HBV screening, which has declined amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Podcast: “Influencing” GI through social media (AGA)
In this episode of Small Talk, Big Topics, Dr. Austin Chiang shares tips for using social media to enhance your career.

Video: Early detection difficult in pancreatic cancer (Healio)
In this video, Monique van Leerdam, MD, and Matthias Löhr, MD, PhD, discuss the need for better early detection of pancreatic cancer.

Headlines for GI

From a consolidation boom to telehealth, here are 5 predictions for the hospital industry in 2021 (Fierce Healthcare)

Money, Patients, Romance: Physician Ethics 2020 (Medscape)

Florida GI practice to open $6M surgery center (Becker’s GI & Endoscopy)

Endoscopic Accessory Disposal: Too Conservative, Too Costly? (Gastroenterology & Endoscopy News)

Tissue-Sparing Surgery Safe in Early Rectal Cancer (MedPage Today)

7 predictions for what lies ahead for health tech in 2021 (Fierce Healthcare)

COVID-19 & the 5 trends that defined GI in 2020 (Becker’s GI & Endoscopy)

The future of gastroenterology and other excerpts on industry-changing trends (Becker’s GI & Endoscopy)

IBD: Fecal Calprotectin’s Role in Guiding Treatment Debated (Medscape)

Videos: Interviews with GI Leaders  (NextServices)

ACG Issues Its First Clinical Guideline on Management of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (News Wise)

AGA publishes recommendations for managing IBD in elderly patients (GI & Hepatology News)

COVID-19 vaccine distribution: How 4 systems are deciding who gets first shots (Becker’s Hospital Review)

The ‘Wondrous Map’: Charting of the Human Genome, 20 Years Later (Medscape)

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