AGA eDigest

July 28, 2005

Colorectal Cancer in Patients under Colonoscopic Surveillance

Hepatitis A in the U.S. Declines in Vaccination Era

Fecal Incontinence Impacts Quality of Life

ERCP Performed Live in Endoscopy Units Is Safe

Dyspepsia and IBS after Salmonella Gastroenteritis Outbreak

POLICY UPDATE

Senate and House Pass Patient Safety Legislation

House Holds Hearing on Physician Payments

HELP Committee Approves Health IT Legislation

CMS Proposes Increase for Hospital Outpatient Depts.

PhRMA Develops DTC Advertising Principles

NEWS FOR CLINICIANS

Center for Quality in Practice Opens

AGA Offers ABIM Recertification Requirements Course

GICareerSearch.com Offers Advertising Feature for Employers

NEWS FOR ACADEMIC CLINICIANS AND RESEARCHERS

September Research Award Application Deadlines

Advertising Feature for Employers Offered by GICareerSearch.com

Fellowship/Faculty Transition Awards Application Deadline

Launch of AGA Center for Quality in Practice

NEWS FOR TRAINEES

GICareerSearch.com Offers Advertising Feature for Employers

Fellowship/Faculty Transition Awards Application Deadline

NEWS FROM THE LITERATURE

Colorectal Cancer in Patients under Colonoscopic Surveillance

Colorectal cancer is diagnosed in an important proportion of patients following complete colonoscopy and polypectomy, and more precise estimates of incidence in patients undergoing surveillance examinations are needed, finds the latest issue of Gastroenterology.

Colonoscopic polypectomy is considered effective for preventing colorectal cancer, but the incidence of cancer in patients under colonoscopic surveillance has rarely been investigated. To determine the incidence of colorectal cancer in patients under colonoscopic surveillance researchers examined the circumstances and risk factors for colorectal cancer and adenoma with high-grade dysplasia. Patients drawn from three adenoma chemoprevention trials underwent baseline colonoscopy with removal of at least one adenoma and were deemed free of remaining lesions. The investigators identified patients subsequently diagnosed with invasive cancer or adenoma with high-grade dysplasia. The team identified the timing, location, and outcome of all cases of cancer and high-grade dysplasia and explored risks associated with their development.

The investigators noted that colorectal cancer was diagnosed in 19 of the 2,915 patients over a mean follow-up of four years. The team found that the cancers were located in all regions of the colon, and 10 were at or proximal to the hepatic flexure. Although 84 percent of the cancers were of early stage, two participants died of colorectal cancer. The investigators noted that seven patients were diagnosed with adenoma with high-grade dysplasia during follow-up. Older patients, and those with a history of more adenomas, were at higher risk of being diagnosed with invasive cancer or adenoma with high-grade dysplasia. – Newsfeed from GastroHep.com

Gastroenterology [http://www.gastrojournal.org/scripts/om.dll/serve?action=searchDB&searchDBfor=home&id=gast]; 2005: 129(1): 34

Hepatitis A in the U.S. Declines in Vaccination Era

Following the implementation of routine hepatitis A vaccination of children, infection rates have declined to historic lows, accompanied by substantial changes in the epidemiologic profile, reports the latest issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. In the U.S., hepatitis A is a frequently reported vaccine-preventable disease. Vaccination has been recommended for persons at increased risk since 1996. In 1999, it was recommended that children living in 11 states with the highest incidence of hepatitis A be routinely vaccinated. It was also recommended that children living in six additional states, with incidence above the national average, be considered for routine vaccination.

Researchers assessed the impact of the current vaccination strategy and evaluated trends in reported cases of hepatitis A since implementation. The team also conducted a longitudinal analysis of characteristics of cases of hepatitis A including all cases reported in the U.S. since 1990 to the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System. The main outcome measure was the incidence rates of reported cases of hepatitis A. Incidence rates in 2003 were compared with those for the pre-vaccination baseline period from 1990 to 1997. The researchers also compared incidence rates in the 17 states in which children should be routinely vaccinated or are considered for routine vaccination. Incidence rates in vaccinating states were also compared with non-vaccinating states, where there is no recommendation for statewide vaccination of children.

The team found that between the baseline period and 2003, overall hepatitis A rates declined 76 percent, significantly lower than previous nadirs in 1983 and 1992. The researchers noted that the rate in vaccinating states declined 88 percent compared with 53 percent elsewhere. In 2003, the team observed that cases from vaccinating states accounted for 33 percent of the national total versus 65 percent during the baseline period. Declines were greater among children aged two to 18 years than among persons older than age 18 years. The researchers found that the proportion of cases in children dropped from 35 percent to 19 percent. Since 2001, the team noted that rates in adults have been higher than among children, with the highest rates now among men aged 25 through 39 years. – Newsfeed from GastroHep.com

Journal of the American Medical Association [http://jama.ama-assn.org/]; 2005: 294(2): 194-201

Fecal Incontinence Impacts Quality of Life

More than one in 10 adult women in the U.S. population have fecal incontinence, which impacts quality of life and prompts health care utilization mostly in women with moderate to severe symptoms, finds July's issue of Gastroenterology.

The epidemiology of fecal incontinence is incompletely understood. Researchers reported the prevalence and clinical spectrum in community women with fecal incontinence. The researchers also assessed health care-seeking behavior and the quality of life in community women with fecal incontinence. The team mailed a questionnaire to an age-stratified random sample of 5,300 county women in Minnesota, identified by the Rochester Epidemiology Project. The researchers assessed symptom severity by a validated scale, as well as impact on quality of life for those who had fecal incontinence during the past year. The prevalence of fecal incontinence was calculated with direct age adjustment to the 2,000 white female population in the U.S. Altogether, 53 percent of women responded to the survey.

The researchers found that the overall age-adjusted prevalence of fecal incontinence in the past year was 12 per 100. The prevalence increased with age from seven per 100 for those in their thirties to 22 per 100 for those in their forties, and was steady thereafter. The team noted that 45 percent of patients had mild symptoms, 50 percent presented with moderate symptoms, and 5 percent had severe symptoms. Symptom severity was related to the impact of fecal incontinence on quality of life and physician-consulting behavior. The researchers observed that moderate-to-severe impact on one domain or more of quality of life was reported by six percent with mild, and 35 percent with moderate symptoms. The team found that 82 percent with severe symptoms had one or more of the domains of quality of life affected. In addition, the team noted that five percent with mild, 10 percent with moderate, and 48 percent with severe fecal incontinence had consulted a physician for the condition in the past year. – Newsfeed from GastroHep.com

Gastroenterology [http://www.gastrojournal.org/scripts/om.dll/serve?action=searchDB&searchDBfor=home&id=gast]; 2005: 129(1): 42

ERCP Performed Live in Endoscopy Units Is Safe

Results reported in the latest edition of the journal Endoscopy suggest that, in a workshop setting, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, performed during live demonstrations, is safe and raises no major ethical problems.

Endoscopy workshops are thought to be associated with larger numbers of complications than routine clinical treatment. Belgian researchers studied patients who underwent endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography in a unit over a 12-year period. The research team compared the patients undergoing endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography during live demonstrations with matched patients. The control for each patient was the next patient admitted to the same endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography unit with similar indications. The researchers assessed possible delays before treatment, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography indications and the use of general anesthesia. In addition, the team assessed standard endoscopic and special treatments, and success and complication rates for endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography. Prolonged hospitalization periods and financial benefits for patients were also evaluated. The research team compared 168 patients undergoing treatment to 168 control patients.

The team reported that endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography was delayed in 18 patients to allow treatment during the workshops at the unit. General anesthesia was used in 88 percent of the workshop patients, in comparison with 44 percent of the control patients. The team found that the duration of the endoscopies and radiation exposure did not differ. The endoscopic treatments carried out did not differ significantly, with the exception of cholangiopancreatoscopy. The researchers observed that the success and complication rates were similar in the workshop and control patients, as was the duration of hospitalization. Among the patients treated during workshops, the team reported that 45 percent benefited financially, as they were not charged for stents or other devices. – Newsfeed from GastroHep.com

Endoscopy [http://www.thieme-connect.de/ejournals/toc/Endoscopy]; 2005: 37: 695-9

Dyspepsia and IBS after Salmonella Gastroenteritis Outbreak

Salmonella gastroenteritis is a significant risk factor not only for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) but also for dyspepsia, reports the most recent issue of Gastroenterology. It has been reported that some patients develop functional digestive disorders, particularly IBS, after acute gastroenteritis (AGE). However, the presence of dyspepsia has not been specifically addressed.

Researchers prospectively evaluated the development of dyspepsia and IBS during a one-year follow-up in a cohort of adult patients. The patients were affected by a Salmonella enteritidis AGE outbreak. The researchers sent out questionnaires to 1,878 potential participants at baseline, three, six and 12 months. The team found that 677 had experienced a Salmonella enteritidis AGE in 2002. The researchers randomly selected 1,201 controls without Salmonella enteritidis AGE and matched for village of residence, age and sex. At 12 months, 271 patients and 335 controls returned the questionnaires. The researchers established dyspepsia and IBS diagnosis by Rome II criteria.

The team found that within the AGE outbreak, the prevalence of dyspepsia was similar in cases and controls. The researchers also noted that the prevalence of IBS was similar between the groups. At three, six and 12 months, the prevalence of both dyspepsia and IBS had increased significantly in the exposed, compared with unexposed, subjects. The team noted that overlap between dyspepsia and IBS was frequent and, at one year, the relative risk for development of dyspepsia was five and for IBS, seven. Prolonged abdominal pain and vomiting during acute gastroenteritis were positive predictors of dyspepsia. In addition, the team reported that no predictive factors for IBS were found. – Newsfeed from GastroHep.com

Gastroenterology [http://www.gastrojournal.org/scripts/om.dll/serve?action=searchDB&searchDBfor=home&id=gast]; 2005: 129(1): 98

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POLICY UPDATE

Senate and House Pass Patient Safety Legislation

The Senate approved S. 544, the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act, by voice vote on July 22, 2005, and the House approved companion legislation, H.R. 3205, on July 27. The President is expected to sign the bill into law. The Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act would encourage health care providers to voluntarily report quality information that would be confidential and could not be used against providers in a punitive manner. The bill is the result of a bipartisan, bicameral compromise reached by the authorizing committees.

House Holds Hearing on Physician Payments

The House Ways and Means Committee’s Health Subcommittee conducted a hearing on Medicare physician payments where Chair Rep. Nancy Johnson, R-CT, stated that the current sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula is unsustainable and irrelevant. If Congress does not act, physicians are scheduled to receive a 4.3 percent payment reduction on Jan. 1, 2006, and additional cuts through 2012. Johnson also stated that the SGR formula prevents policymakers from determining between appropriate and inappropriate care since physicians’ Medicare payments are reduced if they exceed an expenditure target. Both Chair Johnson and full committee Chair Rep. Bill Thomas, R-CA, have recently urged the Administration to remove the costs of physician administered drugs from the physician expenditure target since that would lower the cost of fixing the SGR formula, which is now estimated at $140 billion over 10 years. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Mark McClellan, MD, PhD, who testified at the hearing, stated that the agency is examining whether it can remove drug expenditures from the physician target.

Chair Johnson stressed to McClellan that linking physicians’ payments to quality measurements, or pay-for-performance, would not work under the current SGR system since quality improvement incentives will likely increase volume. Johnson is expected to introduce legislation this week that would eliminate the SGR and replace it with the Medicare Economic Index and require physicians to begin reporting on quality and efficiency measures.

HELP Committee Approves Health IT Legislation

Last week, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee unanimously approved legislation promoting the use of privacy protected, interoperable, electronic health records. The “Wired for Health Care Quality Act” (S. 1262 [http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/D?d109:36:./temp/~bdii1j::|/bss/d109query.html|] blends features of a bill introduced by Senators Bill Frist (R-TN) and Hillary Clinton (D-NY) with features of a bill developed by Senators Michael B. Enzi (R-WY) and Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA). The legislation promotes the use of electronic health records by adopting standards for the electronic exchange of information, ensures quality measurement and reporting of provider performance and offers incentives for providers to create networks for secure exchange of electronic health information.

Specifically, the language of the bill codifies the creation of the Office of the National Coordinator of Health Information Technology, establishes a collaborative to adopt health IT standards, offers two grant programs for individual providers to encourage linkage to a broader network and one grant to support development of IT consortia and authorizes appropriations of $125 million in fiscal year 2006 and $150 million in fiscal year 2007 for all three major grant programs. Finally, “The Wired for Health Care Quality Act” establishes standardized quality measures.

The Senate is expected to act on the legislation next this week.

CMS Proposes Increase for Hospital Outpatient Depts.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has released its proposed changes to the hospital outpatient prospective payment system and hospitals are expected to receive a 3.2 percent inflation update in Medicare payment rates for 2006. Sole community hospitals in rural areas will receive an additional 6.6 percent payment adjustment as a result of the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA).

The effect on many gastroenterology ambulatory payment groups (APCs) is favorable with upper GI procedures increasing 5.11 percent and lower GI procedures increasing 4.74 percent. Many GI diagnostic procedures increased 3.1 percent with capsule endoscopy increasing 11.3 percent. However, CMS proposed a 14.5 percent decrease in reimbursement for stent procedures, a 12.6 percent decrease in selected esophageal dilation procedures and a 52.5 percent decrease in the Bravo procedure. Click here for the impact on the most widely billed GI procedures.

Due to payment increases and volume growth, CMS predicts an overall 5.4 percent spending increase from $26.1 billion in 2005 to $27.5 billion in 2006 for hospital-based Medicare outpatient services. The proposed rule continues the Medicare program’s support for prevention and early detection of diseases, by increasing payment rates to more than 4,200 hospitals for most screening examinations that are covered by Medicare, including screening colonoscopy which received a 2.58 percent increase.

CMS proposes to pay for most Part B drugs, biologicals, and radiopharmaceuticals administered in hospital outpatient departments at 106 percent of the manufacturer’s average sales price (ASP). This mirrors the pricing methodology already used for drugs administered in the physician’s office, and is a decrease from the current hospital outpatient reimbursement at 83 percent of AWP. CMS is proposing to pay hospitals an additional two percent over the drug payment for pharmacy costs and will begin collecting data on these costs; payment for this service is currently bundled into the payment for the drug. In addition, CMS has proposed three new C codes to pay for drug handling costs in the hospital setting. Beginning in 2006, hospitals will need to report a C code for the handling of the drug, in addition to the drug HCPCS code and CPT administration code. The C codes are broken down by oral, injections/intravenous, and specialty agents.

CMS is also proposing to implement the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission’s (MedPAC) recommendation on payments for diagnostic imaging procedures. CMS has grouped diagnostic imaging services into “11 families,” or imaging modalities, and has proposed to reduce payment for multiple diagnostic imaging services in the same family. This would reduce the hospital OPPS payment 50 percent for second and subsequent imaging procedures performed in the same session, as is the current case with multiple surgical procedures performed in the same session.

CMS indicated it will continue to review new device categories on a case-by-case basis. As started in 2005, CMS will continue to require the reporting of C codes for devices in order to capture appropriate device costs.

In terms of gastroenterology specific issues:

AGA will be reviewing CMS’s proposal to update the payment rate for APC 0422 in the final rule and its impact on the Stretta procedure, CPT code 43257 (esophagoscopy with delivery of thermal energy to the muscle of the lower esophageal sphincter and/or gastric cardia for the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease).

· CMS has accepted recommendations from the APC Advisory Panel to reassign certain sigmoidoscopy codes that are currently placed in an incorrect APC based on their median costs into new ambulatory payment classifications. CMS is proposing to create APC 0428, Level III Sigmoidoscopy and Anoscopy, and move CPT codes 45307, 45320 and 45321 to this new, higher paying APC. CMS is proposing to move codes 45335 and 45337 to APC 0146 which will decrease their payment. Lastly, CMS is proposing to move codes 45303 and 45305 to APC 0147 which will increase their payment. AGA will be reviewing these changes and the creation of potential payment discrepancies between proctosigmoidoscopy procedures and equivalent sigmoidoscopy and colonoscopy codes.

· AGA is reviewing CMS’s proposal to move code 91035, esophagus, gastroesophageal reflux test (Bravo pH monitoring system), from new technology APC 0156 to APC 0361, resulting in a 52 percent payment decrease.

· CMS has also added the new C code C9724 for endoscopic full-thickness plication in the gastric cardia using endoscopic plication system, including endoscopy to APC 0422 with a payment rate of $1,356.78.

· AGA plans on commenting on the proposed 14.5 percent decrease in APC 0384 for stent procedures. AGA feels that this sum is inadequate to cover the cost of the stents and the hospital’s associated labor and overhead for these procedures.

CMS sought comments last year on its criteria for surgical insertion and implantation of medical devices. In the proposed rule, CMS indicated it will maintain its current position that a device must be surgically inserted or implanted. However, as supported by the AGA, CMS is proposing to consider eligible those items that are surgically inserted or implanted either through a natural orifice or a surgically created orifice (such as through an ostomy), as well as those that are inserted or implanted through a surgically created incision.

AGA will be reviewing the impact of the proposed rule on gastroenterology procedures in greater detail and plans to submit comments to CMS

PhRMA Develops DTC Advertising Principles

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America’s (PhRMA) Board of Directors has given preliminary approval to a set of comprehensive “Guiding Principles” on direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising of prescription medicines.

According to PhRMA president and CEO, Billy Tauzin, by approving these principles, the industry is demonstrating its commitment to DTC advertising as a way to encourage doctor-patient discussions and provide patients and consumers with accurate, accessible and timely health information. The goal is to make sure that DTC advertisements live up to their potential and to make patients more aware of the benefits and risks of medicines and of the importance of talking to their health care providers, not only about medicines, but also about other treatment options that might help them.

Some of the areas addressed by the Guiding Principles, which go beyond current FDA regulations, include:

Conversations with physicians prior to the launch of a new DTC campaign
TV advertisements should be targeted for audience and age appropriateness
Companies should promote health and disease awareness as part of their advertising
Companies are encouraged to include information about assistance programs for the uninsured and low-income

The PhRMA Board has approved the substance of the principles and PhRMA is working out the final details regarding some of the specific language. The principles will then go before each PhRMA member company for its consideration, voluntary adoption and implementation.

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NEWS FOR CLINICIANS

Center for Quality in Practice Opens

On July 5, 2005, the AGA Center for Quality in Practice was launched. The Center, under the leadership of Deborah P. Robin, MSN, RN, CHCQM, is responsible for developing, implementing, and coordinating the recommendations of the AGA Task Force on Quality in Practice. Some of the Center’s major goals, which encompass many of the Task Force recommendations, include:

Development of patient safety and quality education for member/provider including the identification of avoidable medical errors and adverse events related to GI practice
Development of evidence based quality performance measures including the process by which measures will be determined
Creation of patient education materials to ensure that patients have appropriate expectations regarding high quality, patient-centered, evidence-based care

As Senior Director for Quality, Robin has been working with the Clinical Practice and Economics Committee to continue identifying GI-specific quality issues and trends. The Center will also liaison with various national quality and safety work groups which will become increasingly important as ‘pay for performance’ legislation unfolds. To better understand the organization’s vision for the Center, she is meeting with AGA physician and staff leadership. At the end of this information gathering process, a detailed operational work plan will be developed for the Board’s approval. Learn more about the Center for Quality in Practice on the AGA Web site at http://www.gastro.org/wmspage.cfm?parm1=159.

AGA Offers ABIM Recertification Requirements Course

The AGA will hold a one-and-a-half-day course to assist gastroenterologists in completing the three available gastroenterology modules provided for the ABIM Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program (formerly Continuous Professional Development program). The course will be held Oct. 1 and 2 in Chicago and the pre-registration deadline is Sept. 15, 2005.

Beginning in 2001, a 10-year time-limited certificate for subspecialists was introduced by the ABIM, requiring all previously certified gastroenterologists to recertify to maintain active certification. The MOC program has four basic requirements:

1) Holding a clean license

2) Completing self-evaluation

3) Passing a secure exam of medical knowledge

4) Demonstrating performance and improvement in practice.

The modules completed during the AGA course meet part of the self-evaluation requirement (Note: Course attendees must complete two additional modules on their own to fulfill the requirement for recertifying in gastroenterology.)

Course directors, Carl Berg, MD, and Mark DeLegge, MD, will lead attendees through completion of gastroenterology Modules 04-A and 04-B and Module 24-R, Recent Advances in Gastroenterology. A special session entitled, Pearls for Successful Completion of ABIM Recertification, will provide valuable information for understanding and completing the MOC program successfully. Course attendees will receive Guidebooks, included in their course registration fee, which feature monographs that correspond to each of the questions in the modules.

Gastroenterologists should note that as of January 2006, the ABIM will move away from modules requirement to a point system, which will include a new requirement to demonstrate performance and improvement in practice. Therefore, gastroenterologists who are due to recertify after January 2006, but who complete the modules prior to this date will be allotted a certain number of points toward the revised MOC program and their recertification in gastroenterology. Visit the ABIM Web site at www.abim.org for detailed information on the revised MOC program.

For more information about AGA’s ABIM Recertification Course, visit the AGA Web site at www.gastro.org/wmspage.cfm?parm1=930.

GICareerSearch.com Offers Online and Print Advertising Feature for Employers

GICareerSearch.com, AGA’s online physician placement service, is a leading recruitment resource for jobs in gastroenterology. GICareerSearch.com is a cost-effective tool for employers whose job postings receive targeted exposure to thousands of gastroenterologists. In addition to the listings of online positions, the site includes a new tool called Journal Connection that allows employers to compliment their online ad with a print ad in an AGA Journal.

The Journal Connection feature enables recruiting professionals to price an advertisement, select specific issues and purchase an insertion order. Text from existing online job postings can be converted and edited for print. Print ads can be placed in AGA Perspectives, Gastroenterology and Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology — publications read monthly by almost 15,000 AGA members.

GICareerSearch.com can also be utilized by candidates who can post their resumes online. The site lists various positions within the GI field including jobs in academia and research, gastroenterological surgery, general gastroenterology, hepatology, pediatric gastroenterology and GI nursing.

GICareerSearch.com is a member of the HEALTHeCAREERS Network of association career programs. Find out more by visiting www.GICareerSearch.com or by calling (888) 884-8242 or e-mail info@healthecareers.com. Employers can also place advertisements in the AGA eDigest Classifieds section.

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NEWS FOR ACADEMIC CLINICIANS AND RESEARCHERS

September Research Award Application Deadlines

The AGA Foundation for Digestive Health and Nutrition awards more than $2 million annually for basic and clinical research in gastrointestinal disorders. The following research award applications are due Sept. 5, 2005:

Research Scholar Awards: Awards of $65,000 per year for three years are made to provide salary support to promising junior faculty. These awards enable young investigators to develop independent and productive research careers in digestive diseases by ensuring that a major proportion of their time is protected for research.
TAP Endowed Research Award Scholar Award in Acid-Related Diseases: One award of $65,000 per year for three years is made to provide salary support to enable young investigators to develop independent and productive careers in acid-related research by ensuring that a major proportion of their time is protected for research. Non-recipient applicants for this award will be considered for the Research Scholar Awards.
Bernard L. Schwartz Designated Research Award in Pancreatic Cancer: One award of $75,000 per year for three years is made to enable young investigators to develop independent and productive careers in pancreatic cancer research by ensuring that a major proportion of their time is protected for research. Non-recipient applicants for this award will be considered for the Research Scholar Awards.
Designated Research Award in Research Related to Pancreatitis: One award of $75,000 per year for three years is made to enable young investigators to develop independent and productive research careers, with a focus on pancreatic disease, by ensuring that a major proportion of their time is protected for research. Non-recipient applicants for this award will be considered for the Research Scholar Awards.
Fellowship/Faculty Transition Awards: Four awards of $40,000 per year for two years are made to advanced fellows/trainees and provide salary support for additional full-time research training in basic science.

R. Robert and Sally D. Funderburg Research Scholar Award in Gastric Biology Related to Cancer: One award of $25,000 per year for two years is made to support the research of an established investigator working on novel approaches to gastric cancer.

Award guidelines, eligibility requirements, future deadline dates and electronic applications can be obtained by visiting the Foundation Web site at www.fdhn.org.

Online and Print Advertising Feature Offered by GICareerSearch.com

Fellowship/Faculty Transition Awards Application Deadline

The AGA Foundation for Digestive Health and Nutrition awards more than $2 million annually for basic and clinical research in gastrointestinal disorders. Fellowship/Faculty Transition Award applications are due Sept. 5, 2005. Four awards of $40,000 per year for two years are made to advanced fellows/trainees and provide salary support for additional full-time research training in basic science.

Award guidelines, eligibility requirements, future deadline dates and electronic applications can be obtained by visiting the Foundation Web site at www.fdhn.org.

Launch of AGA Center for Quality in Practice

On July 5, 2005 the AGA Center for Quality in Practice was launched. The Center, under the leadership of Deborah P. Robin, MSN, RN, CHCQM, is responsible for developing, implementing, and coordinating the recommendations of the AGA Task Force on Quality in Practice. Some of the Center’s major goals, which encompass many of the Task Force recommendations, include:

Development of patient safety and quality education for member/provider including the identification of avoidable medical errors and adverse events related to GI practice
Development of evidence based quality performance measures including the process by which measures will be determined
Develop patient education materials to ensure that patients have appropriate expectations regarding high quality, patient-centered, evidence-based care

As Senior Director for Quality, Robin has been working with the Clinical Practice and Economics Committee to continue identifying GI specific quality issues and trends. The Center will also liaison with various national quality and safety work groups which will become increasingly important as ‘pay for performance’ legislation unfolds. To better understand the organization’s vision for the Center, she is meeting with AGA physician and staff leadership. At the end of this information gather process a detailed operational work plan will be developed for the Board’s approval. Learn more about the Center for Quality in Practice at http://www.gastro.org/wmspage.cfm?parm1=159.

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NEWS FOR TRAINEES

GICareerSearch.com Offers Online and Print Advertising Feature for Employers

Fellowship/Faculty Transition Awards Application Deadline

Award guidelines, eligibility requirements, future deadline dates and electronic applications can be obtained by visiting the Foundation Web site at www.fdhn.org.

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CLASSIFIEDS

Place GI position listings and activity announcements in eDigest.

For only $82.50, you can place an ad of 100 words or less in two consecutive issues and for $165 in four consecutive issues. For more information, contact Vivian Hayward at vhayward@gastro.org or (301) 654-2055