Becker's ASC Review

54 GASTROENTEROLOGY 5 trends affecting the gastroenterology specialty By Rachel Popa Gastroenterology remains a lucrative specialty for ASCs, with both growth and disruption expected in 2020. Here are five things to expect this year: 1. Walmart is coming to gastroenterology. Walmart is leveraging its million-person-strong health plan to develop a featured provider network it's testing in Northwest Arkansas, Dallas and Orlando, Fla. 2. e specialty will grow in the next 10 years. As the decade comes to a close in gastroenterology, the specialty has never been at a point of more promise. Colorectal cancer incidence and mortality rates are decreasing as screening rates increase; the introduction of machine learning into the specialty is happening at a rapid pace; and the public has never been more aware of the importance of gut health. 3. Changes in Medicare's 2020 final rule. CMS dropped its proposal requiring GI practices to alert patients of the possibility they may be billed if their screening colonoscopy becomes therapeutic if a polyp is removed. CMS will also reverse its rule to collapse evaluation and management levels two through four for established and new patients to outpatient centers and offices in 2021. GI societies and the American Medical Association worked together on a new CMS plan which retains five levels of coding for established patients and sets four levels of cod- ing for new patients. 4. What private equity has in store for GI in 2020. Gastroenterology investment dominated the specialty in 2019, with no signs of slowing down in 2020. NextServices President and Co-founder Praveen Suth- rum examined the current PE landscape in GI and offered insights into the future. An insight he shared: "Initially, platforms tended to be regional first and national aerwards. In 2019, we saw a few national deals. e PE platform in Texas [the GI Alliance] acquired a group in Illinois. e PE platform in Florida [Gastro Health] acquired a group in Washington. Newer platforms [like US Diges- tive Health] will tend to consolidate practices in their home region first. rough 2020, we will see merger and acquisition announcements of vari- ous mid-size or large GI practices. e PE platforms will compete to acquire and expand. And newer PE platforms will form in other regions." 5. Gastroenterologist salary and job outlook. Gastroenterology is an evolving field, with compensation and revenue generated for hospitals growing in the past few years. Here are three statistics about gastroen- terologist salary and employment to know: - According to Medscape's 2019 gastroenterologist compensation report, GIs earn $417,000 on average, including bonuses and profit-sharing contributions. - Medscape reported in its 2019 physician wealth and debt report that 20 percent of gastroenterologists are worth over $5 million. Forty-six percent reported a net worth of $2 million or more. - Gastroenterology remains a high earning specialty for both physi- cians and hospitals, according to the 2019 inpatient/outpatient revenue survey from physician search firm Merritt Hawkins. GIs came in the No. 5 spot for the highest revenue generating special- ties, generating $2,965,277 on average. n Gastro Health makes 3 acquisitions, including 2nd Virginia practice By Eric Oliver M iami-based Gastro Health made a trio of acquisitions, including the group's second acquisition in Virginia, to kick off 2020. What you should know: 1. Gastro Health acquired Gastroenterology Associ- ates of Osceola in Kissimmee, Fla., in February. The group's four physicians and three advanced-practice providers joined Gastro Health. The practice has three Orlando-area locations. 2. The practice also entered into a merger agreement with Boca Raton, Fla.-based Digestive Care, which is expected to close in March 2020. Digestive Care has 18 locations in three Florida counties. Its 39 physicians and 14 advanced-practice providers will join Gastro Health. 3. Gastro Health additionally expanded its presence in Virginia, reaching a merger agreement with Wood- bridge-based Associates in Gastroenterology, an 11-physician group with five locations. This transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2020. 4. Gastro Health is the first private equity-backed gastro- enterology platform to make an acquisition in 2020. n 3 things to know about GI lifestyle & happiness from 'Medscape' By Rachel Popa M edscape released its 2020 physician lifestyle and happiness report, diving into trends in specialty choice, satisfaction and more. Medscape surveyed over 15,000 physicians across 29 specialties to create the report. Three survey insights for GIs: 1. GIs were the top specialty for Baby Boomers, ac- cording to Medscape's report at 53 percent of Boom- er respondents, followed by pulmonary medicine, preventative medicine, urology and plastic surgery. 2. Fifty-one percent of GIs said they were happy out- side of work, landing toward the bottom of the list. Rheumatologists topped the list at 65 percent. 3. GIs ranked high among specialists for happy mar- riages, with 58 percent said they were satisfied in their marriage. n

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