News from the Literature | Policy | Practice | Research | Career | Journals & Publications
LEADING THE NEWS
Gastroenterology, CGH Launch iPad Apps
Staying abreast of the latest research published by the AGA journals, Gastroenterology and Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology (CGH), is now easier than ever before. Both journals have launched iPad apps, which are free to download in the Apple store. The apps are chock-full of intuitive features, including an easy-to-navigate table of contents; abstract previews; full-text and PDF views; and note-taking, bookmarking and sharing functionality. Content dating back to January 2011 for both journals are included in the apps.
To locate the apps in the Apple store, search for “Gastroenterology” or “Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.” The apps will appear in your device’s “Newsstand” after you download them, and new issues will be automatically added once they are published. As a member of the AGA, you can access the full-text content of each journal issue on your iPad at no additional cost.
To access the content, you will need to first register and claim access to your online journal subscription, using your AGA member ID. Once you register and claim access, you will use the login information you obtain from that process to access the journals’ content on the iPad apps. The apps have a “Remember Me” feature so that you only have to enter your login information one time. Gastroenterology and CGH have posted detailed instructions for how to complete the registration/claim access process.
Don’t delay — download your free Gastroenterology and CGH iPad apps today and access the latest research in the field of digestive disease anywhere, any time.
NEWS FROM THE LITERATURE
Researchers Validate NBI Classification System
Almost all colorectal polyps less than or equal to 5 mm are benign, yet current practice requires costly pathologic analysis. In a study appearing in Gastroenterology, researchers developed and established the validity of a narrow-band imaging classification system that can be used to diagnose colorectal polyps. In preliminary real-time evaluation, the system allowed endoscopic diagnoses of colorectal polyp histology.
Gastroenterology 2012: 143(3): 599-607.e1
What Increases Risk for Persistent Intestinal Metaplasia?
Radiofrequency ablation is a safe alternative to esophagectomy for patients with dysplastic Barrett's esophagus. Although some studies have indicated that radiofrequency ablation is effective at eradicating dysplasia, most have found that radiofrequency ablation is not as effective in eradicating intestinal metaplasia. Uncontrolled, predominantly weak acidic reflux, despite twice-daily proton pump inhibitor therapy before radiofrequency ablation, increases the incidence of persistent intestinal metaplasia after ablation in patients with Barrett's esophagus. Length of Barrett's esophagus and size of hiatal hernia also were associated with persistent intestinal metaplasia after radiofrequency ablation, stated researchers in a study in Gastroenterology.
Gastroenterology 2012: 143(3): 576-581
Patients Enrolled in RCTs Do Not Represent IBD Population
Multiple randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have been conducted to determine therapeutic efficacy of the biological agents for the inflammatory bowel diseases. However, the external validity of findings from RCTs might be compromised by their stringent selection criteria. Data published in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology suggest that most patients with moderate-severe IBD evaluated in an outpatient practice would not qualify for enrollment in a pivotal RCT of biological reagents; this finding raises important questions about their therapeutic efficacy beyond the clinical trial populations. Additional evaluation of the transparency of RCT design and selection criteria is needed to determine whether trial results can be generalized to the population.
Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology 2012; 10(9): 1002-1007
Vaccine Prevents Hospital Admissions for Rotavirus Gastroenteritis
In a study published in the British Medical Journal, researchers evaluated the effectiveness of rotavirus vaccination among young children in Belgium. They found that rotavirus vaccination is effective for the prevention of admission to hospital for rotavirus gastroenteritis among young children in Belgium despite the high prevalence of G2P[4] and viral co-infection.
British Medical Journal 2012; 345doi: 10.1136/bmj.e4752
POLICY
House Panel Passes Legislation to Increase Research for Pancreatic Cancer
The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health passed H.R. 733, the Pancreatic Cancer Research and Education Act of 2012, sponsored by Reps. Anna Eshoo, D-CA, and Leonard Lance, R-NJ.
AGA is pleased that this legislation, which passed by a voice vote, will help provide a framework for the most deadly cancers, such as pancreatic, esophageal, stomach and liver. We thank those AGA members who took the time to reach out to their legislators urging them to support H.R. 733. The legislation now needs to pass the full House; AGA will continue to advocate for the adoption of the legislation.
We need your help. Use AGA’s CapWiz system to email your representatives and let them know you support H.R. 733, which has been renamed the Recalcitrant Cancer Research Act of 2012. There is a companion bill in the Senate, S. 362, the Pancreatic Cancer Research and Education Act. Email your senators to let them know that you support S. 362 and urge them to sign on as co-sponsors.
The subcommittee amended the original bill to expand the focus to include recalcitrant cancers, which are cancers that have high mortality rates, but have not seen substantial progress in the diagnoses or treatment of the disease, such as pancreatic cancer. The legislation directs the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to establish a scientific framework to guide research efforts on recalcitrant cancers by identifying unanswered medical and scientific questions. Information on the implementation of the scientific framework for recalcitrant cancers will be included in the NIH biennial report and the framework for each cancer identified would be updated five years after the initial framework is completed. NIH would then be required to issue a report to Congress with recommendations on the effectiveness of the scientific framework model.
The original legislation was amended to address concerns from NCI that disease-specific research initiatives could hinder research in other areas. The amended bill was crafted to reflect the concerns of the NCI, committee staff, the sponsors of the legislation and patient advocacy groups.
PRACTICE
How To Leverage What You Do Well
In an editorial from AGA Quarterly: Quality, John M. Inadomi, MD, AGAF, says that physicians will be paid differently in the future. Instead of being reimbursed more for doing more, you will be paid based on how well you demonstrate the quality of care you deliver and how efficiently you provide this care. Fortunately, AGA has several programs in place that offer a consolidated reporting structure for submitting quality data.
Read Dr. Inadomi’s complete editorial and learn how to receive the recognition of high-quality practice and obtain greater reimbursement.
Treacherous Impediment to Duodenoscopy in Woman with Pancreatic Cancer
Question: A 52-year-old woman with unresectable pancreatic adenocarcinoma and biliary obstruction was referred for endoscopic decompression to enable chemotherapy. The patient denied ongoing or prior symptoms of dysphagia or regurgitation. A duodenoscope was passed into the upper gastrointestinal tract; at approximately 50 cm from the incisors, food debris and resistance to endoscope passage were encountered. Gastric outlet obstruction owing to tumor was suspected. After further maneuvering caused a small amount of bleeding, a forward-viewing endoscope was passed for better visualization. This revealed a large opening in the esophageal wall immediately proximal to the gastroesophageal junction (figure, arrow). No perturbations in vital signs, abdominal distention or crepitus were apparent. What is the diagnosis?
Demonstrate Quality, Qualify for Rewards in Treating IBD
Use the AGA Digestive Health Recognition Program to submit data for the CMS Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) incentive payments and Bridges to Excellence (BTE) IBD care recognition.
The PQRIwizard offers a simple and cost-effective tool for collecting and reporting quality measures data for the IBD measures group under the CMS PQRS 2012 incentive program.
BTE IBD care recognition enables health-care providers to easily report quality performance to multiple health plans through a single program, and gain rewards such as recognition and incentive payments. Applicants who achieve recognition receive a certificate and the right to advertise as a BTE-recognized provider.
Enroll in both PQRIwizard and BTE and benefit from the ease of PQRS participation while simultaneously qualifying for BTE IBD care recognition.
Learn more by visiting www.agarecognition.org.
UpToDate® Free Topic of the Month
Produced in cooperation with the AGA Institute, UpToDate® is a subscription-based clinical information resource available on the Web, CD-ROM and pocket PC handheld devices. Each month, a free topic is made available on the AGA website. This month's free topic is on the long-term management of liver transplantation recipients.
Nearly 232 physicians write more than 673 topic reviews for UpToDate in gastroenterology and hepatology alone. UpToDate provides gastroenterologists with access to more than 60,000 pages of original, peer-reviewed text, 160,000 MEDLINE abstracts, drug information and drug interactions databases, and hundreds of patient information handouts across 12 specialties. Moreover, UpToDate is used by tens of thousands of clinicians in more than 110 countries and by hundreds of premier medical institutions worldwide.
Order your subscription to UpToDate.
RESEARCH
Collaborate with Your Colleagues in GI Research
The AGA Researcher Directory is a free online directory available to all AGA members who perform research. By creating a profile, you will be able to:
- Identify potential collaborators.
- Identify resources that may be shared among fellow researchers.
- Identify potential mentors.
- Indicate interest in participating in pharmaceutical or device clinical trials.
Once a member of the directory, you can join the AGA Researcher Directory Exchange, a LinkedIn group formed to encourage group networking and research collaboration through member-generated discussions and polls.
Create your profile now to begin connecting with other researchers.
Your AGA Research Foundation Gifts Create Greater Appreciation for Medicine
Kei Nakagawa received a 2012 AGA-Horizon Pharma Student Abstract Prize and 2012 AGA-Eli & Edythe L. Broad Student Research Fellowship Award for research conducted at the University of Pennsylvania.
“It is a true honor to have been chosen to receive an AGA-Broad Foundation Student Research Fellowship Award. I would like to thank the AGA Research Foundation for selecting me as a recipient, as well as Anil K. Rustgi, MD, AGAF, my mentor who has continually encouraged and guided my work at the University of Pennsylvania. Through the research experience enabled through this fellowship, I hope to not only contribute scientifically, but also gain a greater appreciation for the field of medicine, which I hope to pursue in the future. While I have always had an interest in the field of biomedical research, I feel even more connected now. Thank you to the AGA Research Foundation for providing me with this tremendous opportunity.”
CAREER
Free Online Advice Service Available
Get answers to your career-related questions through the AGA Mentor and Advisor Program. More than 20 senior GIs are available to offer informal mentoring and career advice. All questions are confidential.
Mentors are available to discuss matters including, but not limited to:
- Career support and encouragement.
- Enhanced professional visibility.
- Expanded professional contacts and networking.
- Contract negotiations.
- Career counseling (e.g., choosing private practice, academics or research positions).
- Grant writing.
- NIH process.
- Maintaining work/life balance.
- Issues unique to women and minorities.
Browse the advisors, choose your own mentor and receive an answer within two business days.
JOURNALS & PUBLICATIONS
Call for Papers on Clinical Trials: Gastroenterology
Gastroenterology is committed to advancing clinical practice in the field of digestive disease. Recognizing that clinical trials generally have the greatest impact of all studies on clinical practice, Editor Bishr Omary, MD, PhD, and his associate editors strongly encourage authors to submit their manuscripts on clinical trials (diagnostic validation, therapeutic efficacy) of drugs, biological materials and devices in digestive, liver and pancreatic diseases, including studies at Phases I, II and especially III, to Gastroenterology for consideration. The journal is also interested in publishing trials in endoscopic and imaging modalities.
There are several important reasons to submit clinical trial research for publication in Gastroenterology:
- With an impact factor of 11.68, Gastroenterology is the premier journal in the field.
- Gastroenterology is the journal that will directly reach the largest portion of physicians who care for and make treatment decisions for patients with GI or liver disease.
- Authors who submit their manuscripts to Gastroenterology typically will receive decisions within three weeks or fewer.
- Accepted manuscripts will be published online and indexed on PubMed within 10 days of acceptance.
To submit your manuscript to Gastroenterology, go to www.editorialmanager.com/gastro.
For important information on how to report clinical trials, go to www.gastrojournal.org/authorinfo. To review the current and past issues of the journal, go to www.gastrojournal.org.
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Classifieds
Place GI Position Listings and Activity Announcements
For as little as $82.50, you can place a classified ad of 100 words or less in AGA's weekly email newsletter, AGA eDigest, or AGA's bi-monthly magazine, AGA Perspectives. If you place ads in both AGA Perspectives and AGA eDigest, you will receive a 10 percent discount. Advertising in either includes a free online classified listing. Learn more.
Gastroenterology Division
Department of Medicine, Washington Hospital Center
Washington, D.C.
Announcing the availability of a staff position in the division of gastroenterology and hepatology at the Washington Hospital Center. Letters of inquiry or recommendations are invited.
The MedStar Washington Hospital Center (WHC) is an 850-bed acute care academic medical center located in midtown Washington, D.C. Along with the MedStar Georgetown University Medical Center, the WHC is part of the MedStar Health System and is the largest not-for-profit hospital in D.C., serving as a major tertiary care hospital to the Washington metropolitan area and local community with a focus on subspecialty care, and maintains its own research institute.
The attending physician staff of the department of medicine includes 110 full-time teaching faculty and 450 voluntary staff. The gastroenterology division enjoys clinical, research and education programs, including a fully accredited gastroenterology fellowship program. Staff physicians manage hospitalized and ambulatory patients in an interdisciplinary setting and take an active role in the implementation of clinical research protocols and practice guidelines. Currently, the Gastroenterology Center of Excellence at Washington Hospital Center is developing initiatives in hepatology, advanced therapeutic endoscopy and endoscopic ultrasound, a clinical research consortium, and our endoscopy unit is performing 10,000 procedures annually. We are now recruiting experienced subspecialists with expertise in hepatology, inflammatory bowel diseases and GI motility for further expanding the clinical and research centers of excellence within our gastroenterology division. The immediately adjacent Veterans Administration Hospital and National Childrens Medical Center provide opportunities for collaboration. The gastroenterology faculty provide clinical consultation, resident and fellow education, clinical research, and clinical trials. Significant collaborative and academic opportunities have developed with Georgetown University since the acquisition by MedStar Health of the Georgetown University Hospital; full-time faculty at the WHC are eligible for academic faculty positions with the Georgetown University School of Medicine, equivalent to full-time faculty at Georgetown Hospital.
Interested candidates should send CV to: Leonard Wartofsky, MD, MACP; Chairman, Department of Medicine, Washington Hospital Center; 110 Irving Street, NW, Suite 2A-62, Washington, D.C. 20010; fax to 202-877-6292; or email to: leonard.wartofsky@medstar.net.
Sensational practice with state-of-the-art endoscopy center in a beautiful location.
Gastroenterologist to join our extremely busy practice and ASC in beautiful Savannah, GA.
- Partnership opportunity after two years with the practice.
- Highly competitive base salary.
- A very productive practice with an endoscopy center.
- Located in the heart of the medical area in gorgeous Savannah, GA.
- Call schedule is 1/8.
- This is a single-specialty practice with solid reputation.
- Outpatient procedures performed at our endoscopy center or three area hospitals.
- Moving expenses are provided.
- Full family medical benefits.
- Malpractice coverage.
- Great vacation time paid with CME.
Our Mission Statement
To provide our patients with a comfortable and pleasant setting for receiving the best quality endoscopic care in southeast Georgia.
Applicant should possess strong clinical and endoscopic skills. Therapeutic ERCP and EUS would be a strong plus. Board certification is required, but we will help you reach that status if you are not there already. Applicant should also be personable, flexible, energetic and a hard-working individual.
Our physicians participate in continuing education by serving as part-time professors at our largest local health system.
Lynne Marini, CEO
lm@savannahgi.com
912-790-2696
Fax: 912-790-2702
Well-established GI practice in northern New Jersey looking for a part-time gastroenterology associate. Long-term position. Two to three days per week. No night or weekend call. Malpractice, health and pension.
Contact Cathy Shanahan at 973-633-1484. Fax: 973-633-7980. Email: cshanahan999@hotmail.com.
Looking for GI associate to join three-person, well-established, busy GI group in New York City with two locations in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Must be fluent in Chinese. Competitive salary, benefits and partner track. Email CV to: lichixin@yahoo.com.
Hepatologist — North Carolina
Asheville Gastroenterology Associates seeks a second hepatologist to provide patient care and participate in an extensive clinical research program.
Our practice is a 17-physician single specialty GI group in Asheville, NC. We have a long history of providing advanced GI care at our main office, our practice-owned ASC endoscopy unit, three satellite offices, and at Mission Hospital, the main regional medical center for western North Carolina. As the only GI practice in Asheville, we enjoy a large referral base.
Our current hepatology program supports two liver-dedicated midlevel providers and a hepatitis clinical nurse specialist. We have established relationships with transplant centers throughout the region. We have an active clinical research program allowing our patients access to cutting edge therapies for chronic liver disease. We currently have 31 clinical trials and work with both industry sponsored and investigator initiated studies. In addition, teaching opportunities are available for medical students and medical residents if desired.
In the mountains of western North Carolina, Asheville has been long known as a vacation destination. It offers natural beauty, world class outdoor recreation, a vibrant downtown and arts scene, and recently has become known for its thriving microbreweries. It is frequently on everyone’s list of top locations in which to vacation, work or retire. Due to this and a strong regional hospital, Asheville has attracted a superb medical community.
A potential candidate could choose to practice either hepatology exclusively, or hepatology plus general gastroenterology. The size and spirit of the practice allow for subspecialization, teamwork and an attractive call schedule.
Please contact Mr. Frank Chapman, COO at frank.chapman@ashevillegastro.com.
