Becker's ASC Review

47 GASTROENTEROLOGY will persist well beyond COVID-19. Pulling out my crystal ball, here are some pro- jections regarding the GI landscape in 2021: 1. ere will be a COVID-19 endpoint. My hope is that societal shutdowns and unbridled fear will die with the virus. In the meantime, it is a privilege to take care of pa- tients afflicted and affected by the infection. 2. Progressive GI practices will value a holistic and personalized patient experience where GI care points are optimized through replete ancillary service lines. 3. Onerous healthcare regulations and downward revenue pressures will continue to consume enormous amounts of valuable practice resources. Unfortunately, this self- perpetuating creep will continue. 4. Consolidation will follow my No. 2 and No. 3 point above. Independent GI practices will search for the best playbook to consoli- date their market. If they do not, existing private equity backed platforms will be more than happy to call the plays. 5. ere will be amplified understanding of how to effectively market our practices. 6. Recruiting five-star talent will become more important than ever. 7. Telemedicine will continue as a niche customer service line. 8. If the new colonoscopy pill preparation is effective and safe, it will reshape its market. My practice administrator [Ben Shelton] said it best: "is year has given all of us the in- spiration we needed to stay hungry and keep pushing to expand and grow," and so, we will. Larry Schiller, MD, program director of gastroenterology at Dallas-based Baylor Scott & White Health: I'm no Nostradamus, but here are a few thoughts: 1. Demand for endoscopic services will con- tinue to rebound from pandemic-induced lows, driven by missed screenings and extension of the age range for colonoscopy screening down to age 45. 2. e number of medical residents opting for a career in GI will remain high. e number of fellowship positions may expand modestly. 3. e number of more senior GIs opting for retirement or employment by academic centers will increase as the large cohort of GIs trained in the 1970s and 1980s age. 4. Telemedicine services in GI will continue to expand and will be supplemented by app- based electronic interfaces and novel home- visiting services by mid-level providers to collect vital signs, physical examination data and conduct laboratory tests. 5. Healthcare systems will continue to ex- pand GI services to access a large volume of procedures with generous margins. In more rural areas, regions with one hospital, one GI practice, this process is well-underway and will go on to completion. 6. Private equity platforms will continue to consolidate GI practices in an attempt to standardize operations and supply chains to maximize margins and try to leverage size to maintain or increase reimbursement. 7. e eight PE platforms will start to merge, leaving three or four surviving entities as national competitors which — in time — will pair up with insurers to create one-stop sources for medical care. n IBD patients should take COVID-19 vaccines whenever available, experts say By Eric Oliver G astroenterologists recommend patients with inflammatory bowel disease seek out the CO- VID-19 vaccine as soon as they become available, Medscape reported Dec. 11, 2020. Three GIs discussed the vaccine at length during the Advances in Inflammatory Bowel Disease 2020 Annual Meeting, Dec.9-12, 2020 Miguel Regueiro, MD, chair of Cleveland Clinic's GI divi- sion; Maria Abreu, MD, director of the Crohn's & Colitis Center at the University of Miami and David Rubin, MD, chief of gastroenterology at UChicago, all recommended IBD patients take the vaccine. Dr. Abreu said, "It's much safer to get a vaccine than it is to take your chances of getting COVID-19." IBD patients who contract COVID-19 "may have a more se- vere course than the general population, but not by much," according to Michael Kappelman, MD, of Chapel Hill-based University of North Carolina. Dr. Kappelman oversees the Secure-IBD registry, which logs outcomes from patients with IBD that contract COVID-19. The registry has informa- tion from more than 3,300 COVID-19 cases. n PE firm invests in Michigan GI practice, creates new platform By Eric Oliver H .I.G. Growth Partners entered into a partnership Dec. 1 with Rochester Hills, Mich.-based The Center for Digestive Health creating Pinnacle GI Partners, a new investment platform in Michigan. Pinnacle GI Partners will be the management services organization for The Center for Digestive Health. Partha Nandi, MD, of The Center for Digestive Health, will serve as president and practice CEO for Pinnacle GI. Scott Fraser, former president of practice management at Jamison, Pa.-based Physicians Endoscopy, will join the platform's board of directors. Dr. Nandi said in a release: "Our goal in partnering with H.I.G. is to create excellence in [GI] care throughout Michigan. We have a shared vision to leverage the best practices of The Center for Digestive Health throughout the region to deliver innovative clinical solutions to pa- tients, participating payers and major employers." H.I.G. Growth Partners is the capital investment affiliate of private equity firm H.I.G. Capital. n

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