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GASTROENTEROLOGY
Big gastroenterology
groups get bigger: 5
interesting deals in 2021
By Patsy Newitt
Here are five of the most interesting acquisitions in gastroenterology last year:
1. In January 2021, Pinnacle GI Partners teamed up with Michigan Gastroenter-
ology Institute and Capitol Colorectal Surgery, a little more than a month aer
Pinnacle GI's formation. Lansing, Mich.-based Michigan Gastroenterology Institute
was formed in 1988. e practice's team of gastroenterologists and advanced
practice providers staff 12 facilities in Lansing. e partnership made Pinnacle GI
Partners the largest provider of gastroenterology services in Michigan.
2. Physician-owned, West Palm Beach, Fla.-based Gastro Group of the Palm Beach-
es joined Tampa (Fla.) General Hospital in January 2021. e group rebranded as
Tampa General Hospital Gastro Group of the Palm Beaches. e Gastro Group of
the Palm Beaches had five gastroenterologists and was formed 40 years ago.
3. Memphis, Tenn.-based One GI acquired Tupelo, Miss.-based Digestive
Health Specialists, its second acquisition in four days, the platform announced
in March. Formed in 1999, Digestive Health Specialists was the largest inde-
pendent gastroenterology provider in Tupelo. The practice had 10 physicians
and four advanced practice providers. One GI also expanded into Ohio when
it acquired Dayton (Ohio) Gastroenterology four days prior to the Digestive
Health Specialist deal.
4. In May, Miami-based Gastro Health was sold to private equity company
Omers. The company previously was owned by Audax Private Equity, which
acquired Gastro Health in 2016. While precise financial details of the transac-
tion were not disclosed, PE Hub released a report in February that speculated
Gastro Health was worth $65 million in EBITDA.
5. Capital Digestive Care finalized a deal with Suffolk, Va.-based Gastrointestinal &
Liver Specialists of Tidewater in September. A major element of the deal was leveraging
PE GI Solutions, a physician-oriented management services organization. Gastrointes-
tinal & Liver Specialists of Tidewater will have access to Capital Digestive's systems, IT
capabilities and resources — including infusion and GI laboratory services. n
Amid growth,
consolidation,
Gastro Health
pledges to stay
patient-focused
By Patsy Newitt
G
astro Health ended 2021 strong —
acquiring four practices in Florida
and Ohio since Sept. 1.
James Leavitt, MD, president and chief
clinical officer of the Miami-based medi-
cal group, spoke to Becker's ASC Review
about the importance of patient care amid
consolidation.
Question: What are you most
concerned about as gastroenterology
becomes increasingly consolidated?
Dr. James Leavitt: From a physician's point
of view, Gastro Health's mission statement is
to provide outstanding medical care and an
exceptional healthcare experience. I hope
that we don't lose our way as we consolidate
and become more competent and corpo-
rate. It's possible to have a mission statement
but not live by that mission statement. Pa-
tients still should be the center of our world.
We are going to be corporatized, but we
have to fight that and remember that we are
caregivers and doctors and physicians, and
our obligation is to the patient. That's the
potential danger.
As we do more population health, we need
to ensure that individual patient care isn't
lost — that touch isn't lost when you need it —
and that we still relate to patients as people
and remember we are caregivers first.
Our focus still needs to be around the
patient. That's something that would be
concerning as we get larger and larger, and
we start to get more of a bureaucratic ap-
proach to care.
It can't be a bureaucratic approach. It has to
be a healthcare approach that drives better
care. If we stay focused, I think we're going
to do great things. n
Medtronic's AI colonoscopy
system gets approval in Canada
By Patsy Newitt
Medtronic received a Health Canada license for GI Genius, its artificial
intelligence endoscopy system, the company said Nov. 30.
Compatible with any colonoscopy video, GI Genius is a computer-aided
detection system that increases adenoma detection rates. The FDA
granted de novo clearance for the device in April.
Colorectal cancer is the third most common form of cancer in Canada,
with 26,300 cases diagnosed in 2019. n
