The Impact of Health Reform on Gastroenterology Reimbursement
The budgetary impact of the cost of health care on the United States economy is far-reaching. An understanding of the provisions in the Affordable Care Act is essential to preparing…
Gastroenterologists and the Triple Aim: How to Become Accountable
US medicine is fragmented and economically unsustainable and has vast opportunities for quality improvement. A current solution is to create large accountable care organizations. Fragmentation should be reduced and clinical…
Medical Practice Integration: Going Big in Private Practice
Historically, gastroenterologists entered into solo, small group, or academic practices. The current economic environment and looming regulatory mandates have led to gastroenterologists integrating into large, single-specialty groups to acquire costly…
A Letter to Fellows: Transitioning From Training into Practice in Uncertain Times
The end of training marks the beginning of learning. Moving into practice is exciting, and there are good opportunities. Although there is still a great deal of uncertainty with the…
Electronic Medical Records and the Gastroenterologist
This is an age of disruptive innovation in health care in which the business model is changing. Fee-for-service, volume-based systems are being replaced by fixed-fee, value-based systems. One of the…
Impact of Health Care Reform on the Independent GI Practice
Gastroenterology (GI) is constantly changing in response to technological, demographic, economic, and political influences. Current health care reform efforts will accelerate this change. The increase in demand for GI services and…
Health Care Reform: 2012 Update
The recent landmark health care reform legislation seeks to expand health insurance coverage, change incentives, and improve the quality and flow of information. This article reviews the elements of health…
EUS-Guided Anastomosis
Although some technical challenges in the development of dedicated devices need to be overcome, endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS)-guided anastomosis is promising as a minimally invasive technique for pancreatobiliary diseases. Introduction Surgical…
Endoscopic Ultrasound: Contrast Enhancement
The development of ultrasound contrast agents has allowed for the evaluation of vascularity in digestive organs by contrast-enhanced endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS). Contrast-enhanced Doppler EUS and contrast-enhanced harmonic EUS (CH-EUS) have improved…
Endoscopic Ultrasonography-Guided Tumor Ablation
With the introduction of curvilinear endosonoscopes, endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) has achieved the role of a therapeutic modality as well as diagnostic procedure. EUS-guided tumor ablation is one such therapeutic modality….
