PE GI Journal - July 2023

ScalingYour Center

The opportunity to grow your practice is an exciting time in your career. The advantages and opportunities for scaling are endless, but there are some steps that need to be taken before you begin to expand.

Knowing Your Why

“Knowing your why” means knowing your goals for expanding. Define your goals, and create benchmarks to ensure the data you collect is aligned with strategic priorities.

Ask yourself, “What is the current state of our practice?” says Tracy Belsan, Market President of PE GI Solutions. “What is the future state, and how do we back into that?”

After defining goals, physicians need to look at other assets when expanding and operating a practice on a larger scale. Belsan offers additional questions to ask:

• Is your practice in the right financial position?

• Are there enough physicians employed to execute?

• Is the right leadership on board?

Not developing these assets can harm the scaling or impact patient access.

Assess Your Financial Position

Having substantial finances can be obvious, but it is one of the most overlooked assets when expanding. Scaling your practice has many benefits, but you need to grow at a pace the practice can support.

A comprehensive guide to growing your practice or

center

Human Capital Concerns

The more patients you take on, the more staff you’ll need to keep an efficient office. The larger your practice becomes, the less personal patient interaction becomes. A study by IT service management company Avtex suggests there is “room for growth” in patient interaction with 68% of patients reporting providers needed to improve patient interaction.

Belsan suggests hiring front-office staff who are patient focused. “Practices and centers alike should be in search of someone who is 100% patient focused, has a strong sense of customer service, has the ability to be passionate and empathetic, and can be a good teammate,” she explains.

Examine Leadership and Partnerships

Strong leaderships and partnerships are critical for expanding.

“PE GI Solutions helps evaluate the opportunity; we help physicians understand what they want and why,” says Belsan. “We bring an executive team, data, infrastructure, and we bring industry best practices to scale to what the physician wants to do.”

PE GI Solutions can play a vital role in managing growth through expertise and industry-leading advice while allowing you to care for your patients.

GI Editorial Staff

Suzette Sison Editor in Chief ssison@pegisolutions.com

Kelly McCormick Digital/Managing Editor kmccormick@pegisolutions.com

Contributing Writers: Lynn Hetzler, Jake Keator, Robert Kurtz, and Rachael Samonski

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Embracing Innovation

Ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) need to constantly adapt to provide the best care for patients. Discover the latest developments in GI technologies for physicians at insights.sca.health

Find out more at insights.sca.health, or find us on

Incorporating digital Innovations Into Your Practice

10 digital initiatives to focus on for your practice or center.

As new technology continues to enter the GI space, practices and ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) must constantly consider how improvements can improve efficiency, patient reach, patient experiences, and profitability. Below are 10 ways your practice or center can incorporate new digital and technological initiatives.

Maximize Your Reach via Social Media

Social media has become a premier way for centers and practices to connect with patients. These platforms also offer reputation management and the ability to respond to reviews.

Use Chatbots to Improve Efficiency

Chatbots offer patients “on-demand” service, allowing your employees to focus on other tasks. The feature also meets the increased demand for technologically advanced services from healthcare providers.

Be Open to Artificial Intelligence (AI)

New AI tools, such as surgical robots and AI software, provide improved patient outcomes through more precise, detailed procedures, such as with colonoscopies. Leaders should be

open-minded to researching AI tech and making it a part of their practice or center operations.

Continued Telehealth Use

Telehealth usage declined as the COVID-19 pandemic subsided, but its impact remains a valuable tool for maintaining efficiency when seeing new and returning patients.

Showcase Your Membership in GI Organizations

Showing your location as a recognized member of various GI organizations can increase patient trust in your staff and improve your practice or center’s reputation and online identity.

Curate Blog and Video Content

Hosting a blog on your website is simple and can provide a reliable source of information for patients. Employees can create or curate content from other sites with proper citations, such as the SCA Health Insights Tab or Becker’s Hospital Review.

Maintain and Update Your Patient Portal

A reliable and user-friendly patient portal will improve efficiency and patient

satisfaction. Your patient portal should be revisited often to provide updates or improvements.

Organize Your Data for Higher-quality Care

Looking at how you organize your practice’s data can pay dividends. With a more organized system and files, both physical and electronic, physicians and leadership can see a much clearer path to making decisions on staffing, medication distribution, and care plans.

Allow for Digital Navigation via Cell Phones

Digital navigation not only provides an improved user experience for patients but can also decrease the rate of no-show appointments. Staff can also send important visit reminders via text message, email, or calendar reminders.

Allow Patients to Provide Feedback

Give patients the opportunity to provide feedback following their visit, for insight into where your practice excels and where it can improve. Feedback can also provide recognition to staff members who provide a high-quality experience.

Staying Tech

Savvy in 2023

The latest technology is no longer a trend but a must. Here is how ambulatory surgery centers can adapt for patients.

As the healthcare industry continues to evolve and adapt to new challenges and opportunities, 2023 will bring significant technological advancements that will transform how we approach healthcare delivery and patient outcomes. Today’s landscape demands that practices and ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) remain on top of the latest technological developments to deliver the highest quality care to patients. Below are four technologies that GI practices and centers should be aware of.

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) has quickly gained significant traction as a must-have in today’s healthcare field. While still in its infancy, the ability of AI to analyze, organize, and understand complex data helps physicians offer more accurate diagnoses and improve patient outcomes.

From AI-assisted surgical robots to identifying trends, this technology has proven helpful to physicians across all specialties. GI physicians have found success utilizing a selection of AI-assisted colonoscopy devices for higher adenoma detection rates and improved patient outcomes in colorectal cancer prevention.

Some patients remain hesitant about including AI in their care plans. However, with continued education, this technology will continue to grow and thrive in healthcare.

Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality

Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) have quickly grown as tools for training medical professionals in the GI space. These tools allow for “hands-on” training without needing a physical patient. As a result, GI specialists in training gain valuable experience in performing procedures or better visualizing complicated scenarios.

These tools are also helpful for patient education. VR and AR can create 3D digital reconstructions of a patient’s GI tract, allowing physicians to transpose the reasoning behind specific care plans or oddities within the patient. Utilizing these tools to provide a more holistic overview of care can improve patient satisfaction and physician trust. An informed patient is more likely to take proper steps and follow care plans laid out by their physician.

Telehealth

Following the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of telehealth services has declined, but its impact remains. With more patients searching for convenience when deciding on a care provider, telehealth remains a central selling point for GI practices and centers. This benefit is also felt by physicians, who spend less time per patient performing routine diagnostics and basic tasks. This time is better spent assisting others who need further or advanced care.

Telehealth still offers benefits and convenience to patients and physicians alike, making its continued inclusion something practices and centers should consider.

Virtual Chromoendoscopy

Virtual chromoendoscopy has added another layer of physician support for traditional colonoscopies. With specialized software, physicians can better identify subtle changes in the mucosa, indicating the presence of abnormal tissue or lesions. The software also simulates various forms of light to replicate dyes used in traditional chromoendoscopy. While colonoscopies remain the “gold standard” of colorectal cancer prevention, these developments give physicians additional assistance, improve patient outcomes, and increase adenoma detection rates.

To stay up to date on the latest tech trends affecting the GI industry and more, visit insights.sca.health.

GI physicians have found success utilizing a selection of AI-assisted colonoscopy devices, allowing for higher adenoma detection rates and improved patient outcomes in the prevention of colorectal cancer.

The Future of AI and GI

After many years of hype and speculation, artificial intelligence (AI) has begun making its way into GI practices and ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), offering potential new ways to improve the delivery of care. This potential has Amiee Mingus, RN, BSN, vice president of clinical operations for PE GI Solutions, excited for the future.

“I think we are at the beginning of witnessing what AI will be able to do for gastroenterology,” Mingus said. “It’s been just a few years since we started learning about AI and its possible applications for GI. I know a lot of our providers are closely following the news and developments around AI and are eager to try out these new solutions, and so we’re now starting to see AI technologies added by our facilities.”

Thus far, the one AI technology that’s made its way into PE GI facilities is computeraided polyp detection (CADe), intended to help reduce the likelihood of missed polyps during colonoscopy. There are two applications for AI polyp detection in PE GI facilities: one costs a flat fee for usage at any time; the other costs several dollars for each usage. “This per-use option allows our physicians who want to use it to turn it on while physicians who do not want to use it can leave it off,” Mingus says.

Why would a physician choose not to use AI? The jury is largely still out on the value and viability of the technology in gastroenterology, says Annie Sariego, market president for PE GI Solutions. “I think AI is the future, but before we begin changing practices that have served us and our patients well for many

years, we must consider the ramifications of those changes. The focus must always be on outcomes and doing what is in the best interest of patients.”

That, Sariego says, extends to considering the cost of care. “AI can exponentially increase costs. I think it is important that we remain cognizant of our role as leaders in providing low-cost, high-quality care to our communities. This is especially important as we think about serving disparate areas and populations.”

Regarding whether to add a CADe system, Mingus says the questions you will want to answer are how much of a difference AI makes and does that difference justify the investment? “AI potentially enhances the trained eye,” she says. “If the technology can raise the adenoma detection rate, it’s worth considering. But before adding the technology, you must determine whether the financial ramifications could jeopardize your ability to maintain viability and continue to serve your patients.”

Many New AI Technologies on the Way

As more AI technologies enter the market, asking such questions about outcomes and cost will be essential. Several technologies are on Mingus’ radar. One is computer-aided polyp diagnosis (CADx). “This is the use of a pathology

Physicians are only scraping the surface in unlocking the potential AI has on improving patient care.

AI algorithm to examine tissue and determine whether it’s cancerous or precancerous, which has the potential to expedite additional care when needed,” she says.

Another use of AI that Mingus is monitoring closely concerns natural language processing (NLP). Such applications can help with completing operative or procedure notes and charting. “The technology is designed to detect the conversation in the room, choose what is appropriate for the operative report, and then separate this information from any other conversations people are having,” she says.

CADe, CADx, NLP, and other AI technologies were discussed in a 2020 position statement on priorities for AI in GI published by the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE). ASGE has also created an AI task force to “develop guidance around clinical implementation, testing/ validating algorithms, and building pathways for successful implementation of AI in GI endoscopy.”

Other GI societies are focusing on AI as well. For example, the American Gastroenterological Association is developing a clinical practice update concerning the role of AI and the management of colorectal polyps and guidelines for the role of AI in colorectal cancer screening. The American College of Gastroenterology is planning an “AI in GI” special issue of Clinical and

Translational Gastroenterology to be published in the fall of 2023.

GI professionals should pay close attention to information on AI published by these GI organizations and research on the validation of AI technologies. Physicians interested in AI should speak with colleagues using these technologies in their facilities to learn if the tools are enhancing—and not impeding— their work.

Preparing for a Future With AI

Mingus expects AI in some form to likely become commonplace within GI. “There will only be more options for AI technologies, some of which will prove themselves valuable for improving outcomes, and they will become more affordable over time. Some scope manufacturers are already talking about adding AI to their scopes. AI may eventually be part of what comes standard when we purchase scopes.”

If you plan to add AI technologies, allocate time and resources for patient education. “There’s so much buzz around AI these days, and not all of it is positive,” says Mingus, citing ChatGPT as one example. “There are some people who may want to come to a center because it advertises the use of an AI solution. Then there are other patients who might be a little nervous about the role AI will play in their care.”

In the case of CADe, Mingus says some patients going to centers with the technology have asked whether the AI will perform their procedure while physicians watch. “People need to know that AI does not mean a computer or robot is taking over their care. Rather, it’s still the physician who is firmly in charge and making all the decisions. The AI is there to enhance a physician’s capabilities and essentially serve as a backup.”

As AI makes its way into more facilities, Sariego emphasizes the importance of ongoing monitoring and assessment of the technologies and their role in delivering GI care. “Even if AI becomes standard, we must closely study our outcomes and costs and then continue to make decisions that always put patients first.”