Becker's ASC Review

89 GASTROENTEROLOGY 7 big trends in GI this year — COVID-19's effect, compensation & more By Eric Oliver W ith the dog days of summer in the rear view, gastroenterology has had a specialty-chang- ing year severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the specialty is gradually recovering and moving forward. Here are seven trends that will shape the specialty going forward: COVID-19's fallout From the elective surgery shutdown to the recovery period, GI practices have had to weather the storm and continue to do so. As a result of the pandemic-related shutdowns, it's projected that the missed screening tests could result in a boom of colorectal cancer cases. Colonoscopy remains difficult to perform because of the potential to spread COVID-19. Colonoscopy alternatives continue to vie to fill the hole left by the pause in screen- ings. CRC guideline updates To lower the screening age or not to lower the screening age continues to be the question. The U.S. Multi-Society Task Force on Colorectal Cancer updated its 2012 recom- mendations for post-colonoscopy follow-up with or with- out polypectomy. The society recommended physicians: • Make more detailed follow-up recommendations to patients after removing serrated polyps • Follow updated polyp surveillance recommenda- tions that are based on CRC outcomes risk • Conduct comprehensive high-quality baseline examinations Compensation Gastroenterologists reported average annual compensa- tion of $419,000, the sixth highest amount of specialty physicians, according to Medscape's "Physician Debt & Net Worth Report 2020." Unfortunately, compensation has remained flat for gastroenterology between 2019 and 2020, one of only four other specialties that didn't report an increase. A hard line on probiotics in gastroenterology The American Gastroenterological Association issued a guideline on probiotics use in gastroenterology, recom- mending against the use of such treatments in June. The guideline, published in Gastroenterology, found only three clinical scenarios where probiotics were beneficial to patients; in general, there was not enough evidence to support the use of probiotics for most conditions. The rise of AI Artificial intelligence tools continue to attempt to make a mark on the specialty. Most tools are based around increasing polyp detection rates. Fujifilm Europe notably launched a real-time colonic policy detection tool in Eu- rope after receiving a CE Mark in February. It's expected the device will come to the U.S. if initial results continue to be encouraging. Pharmaceutical consolidation AbbVie acquired Allergan in May for $63 billion, one of several consolidations in the specialty this year. Among the other moves was Bausch Health announcing it would spin off its core eye business to focus on its other tenants like gastroenterology, and also RDD Pharma, Innovate Biopharmaceuticals and Naia Rare Diseases merging to form new GI-focused company 9 Meters Biopharma. Private equity continues to make its mark With only four deals closed, COVID-19 seriously affected investment activity through the first half of 2020. How- ever, analysts expect activity to pick up as the year comes to a close. n

• Cover