46
GASTROENTEROLOGY
6 insights into endoscope
reprocessing & how to ensure
guideline adherence
By Eric Oliver
E
ndoscope reprocessing is still an issue
of utmost importance, Gastroenterology
& Endoscopy News reported.
G & E spoke with several experts to compile
reprocessing tips for practices. Six insights:
1. New York City-based NYU Langone
Medical Center clinical professor Jonathan
Cohen, MD, told G & E that centers need to
prioritize reprocessing and establish group
buy-in.
"e endoscopy unit must maintain the
highest standards, not just in terms of equip-
ment, but also training, personnel and com-
petency assessment to ensure that the people
cleaning the scopes are following all of the
steps correctly every time," Dr. Cohen said.
2. Centers should have training in place and
conduct at least a biannual assessment of staff
competency, Dr. Cohen said.
3. Seattle-based Swedish Medical Center
gastroenterologist Jack Brandabur, MD,
reiterated the importance of having properly
trained staff.
4. e November 2012 Escherichia coli out-
break at Seattle-based Virginia Mason Medi-
cal Center reemphasized the importance of
endoscope reprocessing, Dr. Brandabur said.
"ey had been doing everything right and
still had an outbreak, so that was a wake-up
call for us that this is a critical piece of our
workflow within our endoscopy unit, and
patients' lives depend on it."
5. Renton, Wash.-based Providence St.
Joseph Health, Swedish's parent system, re-
tooled its reprocessing system in light of the
outbreak. e health system implemented a
rigorous training process for its reprocessing
technicians, including a training course and a
quarterly recertification process.
6. Drs. Brandabur and Cohen also stressed
the importance of patient communication in
reprocessing.
"Every patient needs to know that there is a
small but very real risk of infection with this
equipment," Dr. Brandabur said. n
Colonoscopy tops list of top ASC procedure charges — 14 statistics
By Rachel Popa
M
ore than 2,250 ASCs
claimed either private or
government insurance for
colonoscopies in 2018, according
to data from Definitive Healthcare, a
company that tracks healthcare data.
Fourteen stats on U.S. ASC colonos-
copy and other procedure charges:
2017
1. Colonoscopy: $3.2 billion
2. Cataract: $2.8 billion
3. Knee surgery: $1.5 billion
4. Endoscopy: $1.4 billion
5. Shoulder surgery: $900 million
6. X-rays: $271 million
7. EKG: $11 million
2018
8. Colonoscopy: $3.2 billion
9. Cataract: $3 billion
10. Knee surgery: $1.4 billion
11. Endoscopy: $1.4 billion
12. Shoulder surgery: $861 million
13. X-rays: $248 million
14. EKG: $12 million n
5 insights into GI
physician salary
By Angie Stewart
I
f they could turn back time,
most gastroenterologists
who would choose to go
into medicine again would also
choose to go into gastroen-
terology again, according to
Medscape's "Physician Com-
pensation Report 2019."
Medscape surveyed 19,328
respondents across 30-plus
specialties.
Five insights on GI specialists:
1. GIs make the seventh-highest
salary compared to other
specialties, earning $417,000 a
year on average.
2. Although their annual
compensation is above the
$341,000 overall average for
specialists, GIs are split on
whether they feel fairly com-
pensated.
3. Fifty-one percent said they
feel fairly compensated, leaving
49 percent who are dissatisfied.
4. Of the 77 percent of GIs who
would choose to go into medi-
cine again, 93 percent would
choose the same specialty.
5. About one-fifth of GIs are
female. n
Every patient needs
to know that there is
a small but very real
risk of infection with
this equipment.
