Becker's ASC Review

42 GASTROENTEROLOGY 5 numbers making gastroenterologists nervous By Riz Hatton Here are five statistics gastroenterology leaders should keep an eye on: 52,550: e number of people expected to die from colorectal cancer in 2023, according to the American Cancer Society. 1,630: e number of physicians gastroenterology is expected to be down by by 2025, according to Physicians rive's "2022 Physician Compensation Report." 36 percent: e percentage of gastroenterologists that reported being burned out, according to Medscape's "Gastroenterologist Lifestyle, Happiness & Burnout Report 2023." 28 percent: e growth percentage of private equity gastrointestinal groups in 2021, according to a report jointly published by consulting firm Fraser Healthcare and pharma research firm Spherix Global Insights. 17 percent: e percentage of gastroenterologists who said they are still paying off student loans, according to Medscape's "Physician Wealth & Debt Report 2022." n What role should private equity play in gastroenterology? By Riz Hatton P rivate equity has touched nearly every corner of healthcare from cardiovascular to orthopedics, but does it have a place in gastroenterology? Robbie Allen, CEO of One GI, recently connected with Becker's to discuss what role private equity should play in gastroenterology. Note: This response has been lightly edited for length and clarity. Robbie Allen: It's always a loaded question, because not all private equity is the same. Just like not all hospital systems are the same. So when somebody says, "Oh, I hate working for the hospital." It depends on the hospital system. There are plenty of providers who work for hospital systems when it's well matched that love their hospital network. Same with private equity. Private equity certainly has made mincemeat of a few different industries and healthcare. I think they, by and large, have done a decent job in GI. They've brought focus to a really fragmented specialty. GI is historically skewed very independent, there are very few large mega groups. The money that's being focused and put in by private equity tends to drive the private equity style model of improving the industry, which is to focus on three, maybe four, things over a period of three or four years, and really drive value on those things with a very conscious effort, which tends to sharpen the tools. It can force and accelerate changes that are already happening in healthcare and I think, by and large, that's what it's done. There's no question it's here. Historically, the doctors are the one leg of a three legged table that's been the weakest. When you think about healthcare in general and physician services, you have health systems and hospitals, insurance companies, and then you have physicians. It's not rocket science to say that the smallest weakest leg of that triad has definitely historically been the physicians. So what you're seeing with this consolidation is that the third leg is becoming a co-equal participant in the discussion. That can benefit everybody. You don't want a lopsided equation. n Gastrointestinal Endoscopy names associate editor By Amelia Ickes T hiruvengadam Muniraj, MD, has been named associate editor of the Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, the official journal of the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy. Dr. Muniraj began his five-year term as associate editor in January, according to a May 3 news release from New Haven, Conn.-based Yale School of Medicine. He is an advanced endoscopist specializing in pancreatic diseases and has had his own research on these diseases published in the journal. Dr. Muniraj currently serves as director of bariatric endoscopy and associate chief of digestive health at Yale New Haven (Conn.) Health. He is also an associate professor of medicine at the Yale School of Medicine and director of the Yale Medicine Pancreatic Diseases Program. n

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