Episodes

Dr. Lisa Mathew interviews Dr. Vijay Yajnik, vice president and head of U.S. Medical, Gastroenterology, at Takeda about how the prevalence of eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is increasing, and evidence is growing that EoE is not a rare disease, but an underdiagnosed one. Approximately one in 2000 people in the U.S. live with EoE, and the incidence and prevalence of eosinophilic esophagitis have steadily increased over time. Join Dr. Mathew and Dr. Yajnik as they explore progress that has been mad...

Dr. Michael Weinstein interviews Dr. Ali Rezaie, a GI physician-scientist who specializes in microbiome research and gastrointestinal motility disorders. His recent study, which won an award at ACG, showed that a new elemental diet from mBIOTA Labs can significantly improve patient compliance. The study assessed mBIOTA Elemental, a palatable elemental diet designed to address the barriers of poor taste and low adherence associated with traditional elemental diets. Participants using mBIOTA Eleme...

Dr. Michael Weinstein interviews Dr. Larry Kosinski about new data from SonarMD describing the association between anxiety and increased risk for flares and higher disease severity in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and emphasizing the importance of integrating mental health support within value-based care models for IBD management. According to the study, patients with anxiety symptoms were significantly more likely to have high disease severity, and over a six-month follow-up, patients with ...

Host Dr. Lisa Mathew interviews Kathleen Teixeira, vice president of public policy and advocacy for the American Gastroenterological Association. Lisa and Kathleen discuss what policies will be in play in 2025 and how GI physicians can get involved to advocate for their patients and their practices. Join Lisa and Kathleen as they explore how physicians can get involved in shaping the policies that will affect patient care and practice management with the new Congress and Administration. Produced...

Kevin Harlen interviews Laura Wingate, chief education, support, and advocacy officer with the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation about a recent survey which shows that more than 40 percent of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have made significant financial trade-offs to afford their healthcare. The survey, published in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, included responses from more than 2,200 IBD patients and caregivers, who highlighted persistent challenges. Among respondents, 30 percent rep...

Dr. Fred Rosenberg interviews Dr. Ruchi Mathur, director of the Diabetes Program in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism and an endocrinologist at the Weight Loss Center, at Cedars-Sinai. Cedars-Sinai recently released a study which found that patients who take a class of widely prescribed medications (GLP-1) to manage diabetes and obesity may require extra preparations before undergoing upper endoscopy procedures. Join Dr. Rosenberg and Dr. Mathur as they explore how gastroent...

Dr. Naresh Gunaratnam interviews Kim Beall, co-founder and managing director of Nutritional Therapy for IBD and Dr. Ashwin Ananthakrishnan, who is the Director of the Massachusetts General Hospital Crohn's and Colitis Center about their work to advance evidence-based nutrition as part of IBD treatment plans. When nutritional strategies are used in combination with medications, additional pathways are engaged to improve symptoms, quality of life and aid tissue healing. When patients are able to a...

Dr. Lisa Mathew interviews Dr. Jeff Scott, a gastroenterologist and founder of Happy Colon Foods, a company that prepares meal kits that are compliant with the diet requirements before a colorectal screening. Happy Colon Foods is designed to mimic a typical day, with three meals and snacks in between, including mac n' cheese and cookies. Because smaller doses of laxatives are spread throughout the day, many patients can work either part or most of their prep day. A large, randomized trial publis...

Dr. Lisa Mathew interviews Dr. Raman Muthusamy, professor of clinical medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, and medical director of endoscopy for UCLA Health, about a new clinical guideline for endoscopic eradication therapy to prevent the progression of Barrett’s esophagus to esophageal cancer. Esophageal cancer is preventable if high-risk patients, such as those with Barrett’s Esophagus, are treated with endoscopic eradication therapy to eliminate the Barrett’s tissue. Endos...

Dr. Fred Rosenberg interviews Dr. Lauren Bleich, of Gastro Health, who serves as president of the Massachusetts Gastroenterology Society about a new blood-based screening test from Guardant Health for colorectal cancer. This summer, a U.S. Food & Drug Administration advisory panel voted that the Shield test was safe and effective, after reviewing evidence from a study which showed that the test correctly detected colorectal cancer in 83% of people confirmed to have it. However, the panel caution...

Dr. Michael Weinstein interviews Dr. Eric Shah, director of the Michigan Medicine GI Physiology Laboratories about a study showing that despite a federal law that says bowel preparations needed for colonoscopy should be covered by insurance, many patients are still paying out of pocket. The study, from the University of Michigan Health, analyzed nearly 2.6 million insurance claims from both commercial insurance plans and Medicare Part D, and looked at how many patients paid for bowel prep medica...

Dr. Lisa Mathew interviews Dr. Mitesh Rao, chief executive officer of OMNY Health, about the organization's work to connect the healthcare ecosystem through data and insights to transform healthcare delivery, improve clinical outcomes, and address patients’ unmet needs. OMNY Health recently announced a partnership with several of the nation's leading GI practices to enable insights on patient population characteristics, care delivery patterns, and treatment outcomes based on data extracted from ...

Kevin Harlen interviews Dr. Larry Kosinski, chief medical officer for SonarMD, a remote monitoring and care coordination program for chronic conditions like Inflammatory Bowel Disease. SonarMD recently announce positive results from two large, longitudinal studies evaluating several major drivers of medical costs in people living with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) and enrolled in the company’s end-to-end, digital care coordination program. In both studies, SonarMD participants experienced a s...

Dr. Fred Rosenberg interviews Dr. Jason Sugar from Washington Gastroenterology, who also serves as the gastroenterology team lead at Modernizing Medicine (ModMed). ModMed recently announced a collaboration with Medtronic to enhance the documentation of polyp detection by utilizing the AI capabilities its GI Genius system. The GI Genius system enables AI-assisted colonoscopies, which have been shown to achieve a 50% reduction in missed colorectal polyps over a standard colonoscopy. The companies ...

Dr. Lisa Mathew interviews Dr. Aja McCutchen of Atlanta Gastroenterology Associates and United Digestive, who recently co-founded OLVI Health, a platform committed to enhancing women's well-being through personalized digestive health insights. OLVI Health works to empower women with knowledge and the tools to managing their digestive health, including helping consumers navigate the misinformation on social media, and understand how to approach products that claim to be beneficial to gut health. ...

Dr. Michael Weinstein interviews Dr. Don Lazas, co-founder and chief medical officer of ObjectiveHealth about partnering with physicians to provide the tools needed to integrate clinical trials into their practice. ObjectiveHealth’s digital health technology can help identity patients who are at risk of developing Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis, or NASH. Join Dr. Weinstein and Dr. Lazas as they explore new innovations in detecting and treating nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and NASH, and how cli...

Dr. Fred Rosenberg interviews Anthony Borrelli, executive director of product & marketing for Fujifilm’s endoscopy division. Fujifilm recently received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for CAD EYE, a novel artificial intelligence detection system for endoscopic imaging that enables real-time detection of polyps and adenomas during colonoscopy procedures. The technology is designed to support detection of lesions that may be easiest to miss, such as flat lesions, those at the ...

For Esophageal Cancer Awareness Month, Dr. Naresh Gunaratnam speaks with Dr. Srinadh Komanduri, associate chief of gastroenterology and hepatology and director of endoscopy at Northwestern Medicine, about efforts to educate the public about esophageal cancer and cutting-edge tools that are helping gastroenterologists determine which of their patients are at greatest risk of developing esophageal cancer. Esophageal cancer is preventable if high-risk patients, such as those with Barrett's Esophagu...

Kevin Harlen interviews Robert Raleigh, chief operating officer and general counsel for Sebela Pharmaceuticals, which has been innovating in the area of colonoscopy prep since the 1980’s. Achieving adequate bowel preparation is challenging but critical to achieve a good-quality colonoscopy. But many studies have shown that a majority of patients have reported the preparation is the most difficult part of screening. Join Kevin and Rob as they discuss how Sebela is working on improving access to l...

Dr. Michael Weinstein interviews Dr. Prashant Krishnan and Dr. Neil Sharma of Peak Gastroenterology Associates in Colorado about building an interventional gastroenterology practice. Peak Gastroenterology is working to deliver interventional endoscopy and endoscopic oncology care to its community, which has historically only been available in larger health systems and academic settings. Join Dr. Weinstein, Dr. Krishnan, and Dr. Sharma as they explore some of the barriers to highly specialized me...

Host Kevin Harlen interviews Sap Sinha, chief operating officer of Allied Digestive Health where he leads its management service organization. Allied Digestive Health has multiple locations in New Jersey and New York, with 160 gastroenterologists and more than 200 clinicians. The organization recently partnered with Provation, so that physicians and nurses across its various offices will be able to document patient visits and procedures across any internet-enabled device. Another recent partners...

Dr. Lisa Mathew interviews Dr. Russ Arjal, who is the co-founder, chief medical officer, and president of Telebelly, a virtual GI clinic offering remote care to patients. Telebelly provides nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and medical assistants to support GI practices and their patients. Join Dr. Mathews and Dr. Arjal as they explore the future of independent GI and the innovations that will help practices compete and thrive in the future. Produced by Andrew Sousa and Hayden Margolis ...

Dr. Michael Weinstein interviews Dr. Andreas Muehler, chief medical officer of Immunic Therapeutics, which is developing a clinical pipeline of orally administered, small molecule therapies for chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. At United European Gastroenterology Week, Immunic presented data from the company’s phase 1b clinical trial of IMU-856, an orally available and systemically acting small molecule modulator used to treat celiac disease. Immunic’s new approach to treatment entai...

Patients with Barrett’s Esophagus are at a higher risk to develop esophageal cancer, but it has always been challenging for physicians to determine which of their patients are at greatest risk. Dr. Michael Weinstein interviews Dr. Mathew Goldberg, who is medical director of Castle Biosciences about TissueCypher, a test to help gastroenterologists stratify risk for cancer in patients with Barrett's Esophagus. Join Dr. Weinstein and Dr. Goldberg to hear about how this innovative test can help gast...