Society News

In the 2022 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) further refined E/M billing by addressing split/shared visits between nonphysician practitioners (such as nurse practitioners and physician assistants) (see https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2021-11-19/pdf/2021-23972.pdf, pp. 65150-9).

A split/shared visit is “an E/M visit in the facility setting that is performed in part by both a physician and an NPP who are in the same group, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.” CMS recognized team-based care increased utilization of NPPs in the inpatient setting, typically under physician supervision rather than completely independent NPP practice. NPP-physician team-based care is widely prevalent on critical care, hospitalist, and specialty consultation services.

These new changes from CMS went into effect January 1, 2022. CMS now mandates the practitioner providing the “substantive portion” of the service must bill for the service. For the past 20 years, the substantive portion was largely defined by medical decision making (MDM): the physician often spent less face-to-face and/or non-face-to-face time than the NPP, but the physician could bill for the service based on MDM including a nuanced synthesis of data, and final approvals or revisions to decisions on additional evaluation and treatment. Beginning January 1, 2023, CMS will no longer define MDM as the substantive portion of the visit “because MDM is not necessarily quantifiable and can depend on patient characteristics (for example, risk).” Thus, CMS will define the “substantive portion” of the visit as the practitioner who spent >50% of the total of both face-to-face and non-face-to-face time, on the calendar day. 2022 is a transitional year allowing “the practitioner who spends more than half of the total time, or performs the history, exam, or MDM to be considered to have performed the substantive portion and can bill for the split (or shared) E/M visit.” During 2022, the visit level can be chosen based on MDM or time. In 2023, the visit level can still be chosen based upon MDM, but the billing provider is determined by who performed the “substantive portion” of the visit, which will be exclusively based upon which provider spent the most amount of time.

During 2022, when billing based on time, the practitioner spending the most time (the NPP or the physician) dictates who will be the billing provider. Alternatively, billing based on the substantive portion of the visit allows billing by the provider (NPP or physician) who completely performs the key component (history, physical examination, or medical decision making) that determines the level of the visit. With the new documentation guidelines, MDM is the only key component that can determine the visit level in the office setting. In 2023, only time-based billing will be in effect for choosing the billing provider in the inpatient hospital setting. Most importantly, time-based billing is already the only method for determining the billing provider for billing critical care services, based on the provider (NPP or physician) with the greater individual total of time.

This change represents a major shift in reimbursement for physician-NPP teams. Many physician compensation plans are based on a work relative value unit (wRVU) system. This time-based billing may shift attribution to the NPP and, thereby, disadvantage the physicians working with NPPs as they will no longer receive wRVU credit for team-based care delivery. This shift demands we all reexamine our compensation models, and how organizations attribute work value across their providers (both NPPs and physicians), with special consideration for how to credit physicians for their essential supervision of team-based care delivered and now billed by NPPs. Ideally, options for revising compensation models without changing the care delivery model would preserve the essential partnership between physicians and NPPs.
 

*The CHEST Health Policy and Advocacy Work Group includes Nikki Augustyn, Geoffrey D. Bass, MD, Jamie Cummings, Ian Nathanson, MD, FCCP, Emily Petraglia, Gulshan Sharma, MD, FCCP, Kelly Shriner, and John E. Studdard, MD, FCCP.

In the 2022 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) further refined E/M billing by addressing split/shared visits between nonphysician practitioners (such as nurse practitioners and physician assistants) (see https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2021-11-19/pdf/2021-23972.pdf, pp. 65150-9).

A split/shared visit is “an E/M visit in the facility setting that is performed in part by both a physician and an NPP who are in the same group, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.” CMS recognized team-based care increased utilization of NPPs in the inpatient setting, typically under physician supervision rather than completely independent NPP practice. NPP-physician team-based care is widely prevalent on critical care, hospitalist, and specialty consultation services.

These new changes from CMS went into effect January 1, 2022. CMS now mandates the practitioner providing the “substantive portion” of the service must bill for the service. For the past 20 years, the substantive portion was largely defined by medical decision making (MDM): the physician often spent less face-to-face and/or non-face-to-face time than the NPP, but the physician could bill for the service based on MDM including a nuanced synthesis of data, and final approvals or revisions to decisions on additional evaluation and treatment. Beginning January 1, 2023, CMS will no longer define MDM as the substantive portion of the visit “because MDM is not necessarily quantifiable and can depend on patient characteristics (for example, risk).” Thus, CMS will define the “substantive portion” of the visit as the practitioner who spent >50% of the total of both face-to-face and non-face-to-face time, on the calendar day. 2022 is a transitional year allowing “the practitioner who spends more than half of the total time, or performs the history, exam, or MDM to be considered to have performed the substantive portion and can bill for the split (or shared) E/M visit.” During 2022, the visit level can be chosen based on MDM or time. In 2023, the visit level can still be chosen based upon MDM, but the billing provider is determined by who performed the “substantive portion” of the visit, which will be exclusively based upon which provider spent the most amount of time.

During 2022, when billing based on time, the practitioner spending the most time (the NPP or the physician) dictates who will be the billing provider. Alternatively, billing based on the substantive portion of the visit allows billing by the provider (NPP or physician) who completely performs the key component (history, physical examination, or medical decision making) that determines the level of the visit. With the new documentation guidelines, MDM is the only key component that can determine the visit level in the office setting. In 2023, only time-based billing will be in effect for choosing the billing provider in the inpatient hospital setting. Most importantly, time-based billing is already the only method for determining the billing provider for billing critical care services, based on the provider (NPP or physician) with the greater individual total of time.

This change represents a major shift in reimbursement for physician-NPP teams. Many physician compensation plans are based on a work relative value unit (wRVU) system. This time-based billing may shift attribution to the NPP and, thereby, disadvantage the physicians working with NPPs as they will no longer receive wRVU credit for team-based care delivery. This shift demands we all reexamine our compensation models, and how organizations attribute work value across their providers (both NPPs and physicians), with special consideration for how to credit physicians for their essential supervision of team-based care delivered and now billed by NPPs. Ideally, options for revising compensation models without changing the care delivery model would preserve the essential partnership between physicians and NPPs.
 

*The CHEST Health Policy and Advocacy Work Group includes Nikki Augustyn, Geoffrey D. Bass, MD, Jamie Cummings, Ian Nathanson, MD, FCCP, Emily Petraglia, Gulshan Sharma, MD, FCCP, Kelly Shriner, and John E. Studdard, MD, FCCP.

In the 2022 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) further refined E/M billing by addressing split/shared visits between nonphysician practitioners (such as nurse practitioners and physician assistants) (see https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2021-11-19/pdf/2021-23972.pdf, pp. 65150-9).

A split/shared visit is “an E/M visit in the facility setting that is performed in part by both a physician and an NPP who are in the same group, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.” CMS recognized team-based care increased utilization of NPPs in the inpatient setting, typically under physician supervision rather than completely independent NPP practice. NPP-physician team-based care is widely prevalent on critical care, hospitalist, and specialty consultation services.

These new changes from CMS went into effect January 1, 2022. CMS now mandates the practitioner providing the “substantive portion” of the service must bill for the service. For the past 20 years, the substantive portion was largely defined by medical decision making (MDM): the physician often spent less face-to-face and/or non-face-to-face time than the NPP, but the physician could bill for the service based on MDM including a nuanced synthesis of data, and final approvals or revisions to decisions on additional evaluation and treatment. Beginning January 1, 2023, CMS will no longer define MDM as the substantive portion of the visit “because MDM is not necessarily quantifiable and can depend on patient characteristics (for example, risk).” Thus, CMS will define the “substantive portion” of the visit as the practitioner who spent >50% of the total of both face-to-face and non-face-to-face time, on the calendar day. 2022 is a transitional year allowing “the practitioner who spends more than half of the total time, or performs the history, exam, or MDM to be considered to have performed the substantive portion and can bill for the split (or shared) E/M visit.” During 2022, the visit level can be chosen based on MDM or time. In 2023, the visit level can still be chosen based upon MDM, but the billing provider is determined by who performed the “substantive portion” of the visit, which will be exclusively based upon which provider spent the most amount of time.

During 2022, when billing based on time, the practitioner spending the most time (the NPP or the physician) dictates who will be the billing provider. Alternatively, billing based on the substantive portion of the visit allows billing by the provider (NPP or physician) who completely performs the key component (history, physical examination, or medical decision making) that determines the level of the visit. With the new documentation guidelines, MDM is the only key component that can determine the visit level in the office setting. In 2023, only time-based billing will be in effect for choosing the billing provider in the inpatient hospital setting. Most importantly, time-based billing is already the only method for determining the billing provider for billing critical care services, based on the provider (NPP or physician) with the greater individual total of time.

This change represents a major shift in reimbursement for physician-NPP teams. Many physician compensation plans are based on a work relative value unit (wRVU) system. This time-based billing may shift attribution to the NPP and, thereby, disadvantage the physicians working with NPPs as they will no longer receive wRVU credit for team-based care delivery. This shift demands we all reexamine our compensation models, and how organizations attribute work value across their providers (both NPPs and physicians), with special consideration for how to credit physicians for their essential supervision of team-based care delivered and now billed by NPPs. Ideally, options for revising compensation models without changing the care delivery model would preserve the essential partnership between physicians and NPPs.
 

*The CHEST Health Policy and Advocacy Work Group includes Nikki Augustyn, Geoffrey D. Bass, MD, Jamie Cummings, Ian Nathanson, MD, FCCP, Emily Petraglia, Gulshan Sharma, MD, FCCP, Kelly Shriner, and John E. Studdard, MD, FCCP.

Innovative technologies for obesity management, emerging noninvasive diagnostic tools, and the AI revolution in health care are just some of the topics featured at the 2022 AGA Tech Summit, April 14-15, in San Francisco. Registration is now open.

This year’s Summit features a keynote lecture from Rajni Natesan, MD, MBA, chief medical officer for Braid Health, on how the power of data connectivity is being used in the transformation of health care.

The 2022 Summit continues to feature ancillary programs for physician innovators and trainees interested in innovation.

See the next big idea in gastroenterology. The Shark Tank competition is where GI innovators pitch their concepts to a panel of judges. Have an idea you think has potential

Get an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of the MedTech world through the AGA Innovation Fellows Program. The program connects GI fellows in their third and fourth year, as well as those in advanced endoscopy fellowship programs, with successful physician innovators and industry thought leaders with the goals of sharpening their entrepreneurial talents and introducing careers in GI innovation.

Join the GI innovation community at the AGA Tech Summit and be part of it yourself.

Innovative technologies for obesity management, emerging noninvasive diagnostic tools, and the AI revolution in health care are just some of the topics featured at the 2022 AGA Tech Summit, April 14-15, in San Francisco. Registration is now open.

This year’s Summit features a keynote lecture from Rajni Natesan, MD, MBA, chief medical officer for Braid Health, on how the power of data connectivity is being used in the transformation of health care.

The 2022 Summit continues to feature ancillary programs for physician innovators and trainees interested in innovation.

See the next big idea in gastroenterology. The Shark Tank competition is where GI innovators pitch their concepts to a panel of judges. Have an idea you think has potential

Get an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of the MedTech world through the AGA Innovation Fellows Program. The program connects GI fellows in their third and fourth year, as well as those in advanced endoscopy fellowship programs, with successful physician innovators and industry thought leaders with the goals of sharpening their entrepreneurial talents and introducing careers in GI innovation.

Join the GI innovation community at the AGA Tech Summit and be part of it yourself.

Innovative technologies for obesity management, emerging noninvasive diagnostic tools, and the AI revolution in health care are just some of the topics featured at the 2022 AGA Tech Summit, April 14-15, in San Francisco. Registration is now open.

This year’s Summit features a keynote lecture from Rajni Natesan, MD, MBA, chief medical officer for Braid Health, on how the power of data connectivity is being used in the transformation of health care.

The 2022 Summit continues to feature ancillary programs for physician innovators and trainees interested in innovation.

See the next big idea in gastroenterology. The Shark Tank competition is where GI innovators pitch their concepts to a panel of judges. Have an idea you think has potential

Get an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of the MedTech world through the AGA Innovation Fellows Program. The program connects GI fellows in their third and fourth year, as well as those in advanced endoscopy fellowship programs, with successful physician innovators and industry thought leaders with the goals of sharpening their entrepreneurial talents and introducing careers in GI innovation.

Join the GI innovation community at the AGA Tech Summit and be part of it yourself.

Creating a legacy of giving is easier than you think. Take some time to start creating your legacy while supporting the AGA Research Foundation. Gifts to charitable organizations, such as the AGA Research Foundation, in your plans ensure your support for our mission continues for years to come.

Here are two ideas to help you get started.

• Name the AGA Research Foundation as a beneficiary. This arrangement is one of the most tax-smart ways to support the AGA Research Foundation after your lifetime. When you leave retirement plan assets to us, we bypass any taxes and receive the full amount.
• Include the AGA Research Foundation in your will or living trust. This gift can be made by including as little as one sentence in your will or living trust. Plus, your gift can be modified throughout your lifetime as circumstances change.

Want to learn more about including a gift to the AGA Research Foundation in your plans? Visit our website at https://gastro.planmylegacy.org. 

Creating a legacy of giving is easier than you think. Take some time to start creating your legacy while supporting the AGA Research Foundation. Gifts to charitable organizations, such as the AGA Research Foundation, in your plans ensure your support for our mission continues for years to come.

Here are two ideas to help you get started.

• Name the AGA Research Foundation as a beneficiary. This arrangement is one of the most tax-smart ways to support the AGA Research Foundation after your lifetime. When you leave retirement plan assets to us, we bypass any taxes and receive the full amount.
• Include the AGA Research Foundation in your will or living trust. This gift can be made by including as little as one sentence in your will or living trust. Plus, your gift can be modified throughout your lifetime as circumstances change.

Want to learn more about including a gift to the AGA Research Foundation in your plans? Visit our website at https://gastro.planmylegacy.org. 

Creating a legacy of giving is easier than you think. Take some time to start creating your legacy while supporting the AGA Research Foundation. Gifts to charitable organizations, such as the AGA Research Foundation, in your plans ensure your support for our mission continues for years to come.

Here are two ideas to help you get started.

• Name the AGA Research Foundation as a beneficiary. This arrangement is one of the most tax-smart ways to support the AGA Research Foundation after your lifetime. When you leave retirement plan assets to us, we bypass any taxes and receive the full amount.
• Include the AGA Research Foundation in your will or living trust. This gift can be made by including as little as one sentence in your will or living trust. Plus, your gift can be modified throughout your lifetime as circumstances change.

Want to learn more about including a gift to the AGA Research Foundation in your plans? Visit our website at https://gastro.planmylegacy.org. 

It’s January 1, 2022, as I write, and my CHEST presidency came to an end last night as the fireworks lit up the sky. With COVID-19 waxing and waning across the United States and around the world, I have been a wartime president. CHEST has not been able to do a number of the things that we would normally have done in person, including that there has not been an in-person CHEST annual meeting during my entire presidency. We have, nonetheless, achieved some important things that I will share with you.

If you’re a typical CHEST member, you probably don’t spend a lot of time wondering about CHEST’s finances, nor should you. Nevertheless, CHEST – your organization – does have to be fiscally responsible if we desire to continue our educational and research missions, and that is the job of your Board of Regents, your presidents, and your professional staff at the CHEST headquarters. I’m happy to tell you that your organization is in healthy financial condition, in spite of a challenging economic environment and, being forced into remote, online annual meetings and board reviews for 2 years. What that means to us and to you is that we get to maintain and improve our full array of educational activities, including our annual meeting, our journal, our board reviews, our hands-on courses at the CHEST headquarters, and our web content. And, we get to accelerate our advocacy activities for our patients and for the clinical folks who care for them (us!). CHEST is primed for emerging from this pandemic stronger, because we have had to make the most of every dollar we have, and more innovative, because that’s how we have done it. We are ready for new ways of interacting and for innovative new ways of delivering education, sponsoring research, fostering networking, and leading in the clinical arena of chest medicine.

During my time as CHEST President, many of us have become progressively more aware of the blatant inequities that continue in society – and, yes, even in medicine. Perhaps more than anything, it both saddens and angers me when anyone values or devalues someone else’s life because of the color of their skin, who they feel attracted to or love, the sex they were born with or their knowledge that nature gave them the wrong physical characteristics for their gender, what physical impairments they have, where they were born, where they were educated - or not, what language is their first language, or what opportunities they were presented with in their lives. Everyone deserves the opportunity to be who and what they are and to be respected for who they are, and everyone deserves the opportunity to excel. The strongest collaborations have diverse constituents with unified goals, and I want for CHEST to be among the strongest of professional collaborations. It has been deeply important to me during my presidency to champion these values, and we have worked hard to make CHEST an inclusive and diverse organization. Much remains to be done, but we did make some good progress this year.

We established a spirometry working group to look at the science around race-based adjustments for normal values, to call out if there are mistakes or omissions in that approach, and to propose the work that needs to be done to correct them. We invited the American Thoracic Society and the Canadian Thoracic Society to join us in this effort. Race is a social construct, not a physiologic principle, and some data suggest that apparent differences in physiology could actually reflect differences in socioeconomic status of study participants. In similar work, our nephrology colleagues demonstrated that apparent differences in normal glomerular filtration rate (GFR) are related to socio-economic and health care access issues; they called for labs to no longer report race-based norms for creatinine and GFR values. Our colleagues believe that race-based GFR norms have harmed patients by promoting delay in treatments aimed at preventing dialysis or by causing delays in the initiation of dialysis. In our world, asbestos companies have argued that African American and other populations of color should receive lower asbestosis settlements on the basis that they began with lower predicted lung function and, therefore, had been less damaged by exposure to asbestos. I am very interested to see our working group’s output. I think it could result in landmark changes in our evaluation and treatment of patients with lung diseases.

It’s January 1, 2022, as I write, and my CHEST presidency came to an end last night as the fireworks lit up the sky. With COVID-19 waxing and waning across the United States and around the world, I have been a wartime president. CHEST has not been able to do a number of the things that we would normally have done in person, including that there has not been an in-person CHEST annual meeting during my entire presidency. We have, nonetheless, achieved some important things that I will share with you.

If you’re a typical CHEST member, you probably don’t spend a lot of time wondering about CHEST’s finances, nor should you. Nevertheless, CHEST – your organization – does have to be fiscally responsible if we desire to continue our educational and research missions, and that is the job of your Board of Regents, your presidents, and your professional staff at the CHEST headquarters. I’m happy to tell you that your organization is in healthy financial condition, in spite of a challenging economic environment and, being forced into remote, online annual meetings and board reviews for 2 years. What that means to us and to you is that we get to maintain and improve our full array of educational activities, including our annual meeting, our journal, our board reviews, our hands-on courses at the CHEST headquarters, and our web content. And, we get to accelerate our advocacy activities for our patients and for the clinical folks who care for them (us!). CHEST is primed for emerging from this pandemic stronger, because we have had to make the most of every dollar we have, and more innovative, because that’s how we have done it. We are ready for new ways of interacting and for innovative new ways of delivering education, sponsoring research, fostering networking, and leading in the clinical arena of chest medicine.

During my time as CHEST President, many of us have become progressively more aware of the blatant inequities that continue in society – and, yes, even in medicine. Perhaps more than anything, it both saddens and angers me when anyone values or devalues someone else’s life because of the color of their skin, who they feel attracted to or love, the sex they were born with or their knowledge that nature gave them the wrong physical characteristics for their gender, what physical impairments they have, where they were born, where they were educated - or not, what language is their first language, or what opportunities they were presented with in their lives. Everyone deserves the opportunity to be who and what they are and to be respected for who they are, and everyone deserves the opportunity to excel. The strongest collaborations have diverse constituents with unified goals, and I want for CHEST to be among the strongest of professional collaborations. It has been deeply important to me during my presidency to champion these values, and we have worked hard to make CHEST an inclusive and diverse organization. Much remains to be done, but we did make some good progress this year.

We established a spirometry working group to look at the science around race-based adjustments for normal values, to call out if there are mistakes or omissions in that approach, and to propose the work that needs to be done to correct them. We invited the American Thoracic Society and the Canadian Thoracic Society to join us in this effort. Race is a social construct, not a physiologic principle, and some data suggest that apparent differences in physiology could actually reflect differences in socioeconomic status of study participants. In similar work, our nephrology colleagues demonstrated that apparent differences in normal glomerular filtration rate (GFR) are related to socio-economic and health care access issues; they called for labs to no longer report race-based norms for creatinine and GFR values. Our colleagues believe that race-based GFR norms have harmed patients by promoting delay in treatments aimed at preventing dialysis or by causing delays in the initiation of dialysis. In our world, asbestos companies have argued that African American and other populations of color should receive lower asbestosis settlements on the basis that they began with lower predicted lung function and, therefore, had been less damaged by exposure to asbestos. I am very interested to see our working group’s output. I think it could result in landmark changes in our evaluation and treatment of patients with lung diseases.

It’s January 1, 2022, as I write, and my CHEST presidency came to an end last night as the fireworks lit up the sky. With COVID-19 waxing and waning across the United States and around the world, I have been a wartime president. CHEST has not been able to do a number of the things that we would normally have done in person, including that there has not been an in-person CHEST annual meeting during my entire presidency. We have, nonetheless, achieved some important things that I will share with you.

If you’re a typical CHEST member, you probably don’t spend a lot of time wondering about CHEST’s finances, nor should you. Nevertheless, CHEST – your organization – does have to be fiscally responsible if we desire to continue our educational and research missions, and that is the job of your Board of Regents, your presidents, and your professional staff at the CHEST headquarters. I’m happy to tell you that your organization is in healthy financial condition, in spite of a challenging economic environment and, being forced into remote, online annual meetings and board reviews for 2 years. What that means to us and to you is that we get to maintain and improve our full array of educational activities, including our annual meeting, our journal, our board reviews, our hands-on courses at the CHEST headquarters, and our web content. And, we get to accelerate our advocacy activities for our patients and for the clinical folks who care for them (us!). CHEST is primed for emerging from this pandemic stronger, because we have had to make the most of every dollar we have, and more innovative, because that’s how we have done it. We are ready for new ways of interacting and for innovative new ways of delivering education, sponsoring research, fostering networking, and leading in the clinical arena of chest medicine.

During my time as CHEST President, many of us have become progressively more aware of the blatant inequities that continue in society – and, yes, even in medicine. Perhaps more than anything, it both saddens and angers me when anyone values or devalues someone else’s life because of the color of their skin, who they feel attracted to or love, the sex they were born with or their knowledge that nature gave them the wrong physical characteristics for their gender, what physical impairments they have, where they were born, where they were educated - or not, what language is their first language, or what opportunities they were presented with in their lives. Everyone deserves the opportunity to be who and what they are and to be respected for who they are, and everyone deserves the opportunity to excel. The strongest collaborations have diverse constituents with unified goals, and I want for CHEST to be among the strongest of professional collaborations. It has been deeply important to me during my presidency to champion these values, and we have worked hard to make CHEST an inclusive and diverse organization. Much remains to be done, but we did make some good progress this year.

We established a spirometry working group to look at the science around race-based adjustments for normal values, to call out if there are mistakes or omissions in that approach, and to propose the work that needs to be done to correct them. We invited the American Thoracic Society and the Canadian Thoracic Society to join us in this effort. Race is a social construct, not a physiologic principle, and some data suggest that apparent differences in physiology could actually reflect differences in socioeconomic status of study participants. In similar work, our nephrology colleagues demonstrated that apparent differences in normal glomerular filtration rate (GFR) are related to socio-economic and health care access issues; they called for labs to no longer report race-based norms for creatinine and GFR values. Our colleagues believe that race-based GFR norms have harmed patients by promoting delay in treatments aimed at preventing dialysis or by causing delays in the initiation of dialysis. In our world, asbestos companies have argued that African American and other populations of color should receive lower asbestosis settlements on the basis that they began with lower predicted lung function and, therefore, had been less damaged by exposure to asbestos. I am very interested to see our working group’s output. I think it could result in landmark changes in our evaluation and treatment of patients with lung diseases.

We’re proud to announce the 10 early-career physician-scientists selected as “Scholars” for the 2021-2023 AGA FORWARD Program: Fostering Opportunities Resulting in Workforce and Research Diversity, supported by NIH (1R25DK118761-01). This new cohort of Scholars will participate in a training and mentorship program designed to provide concrete and applicable skills to promote physician-scientists from underrepresented populations in the pursuit of successful careers.

“AGA is excited to announce our second cohort of FORWARD Program Scholars as we continue in our promise to inspire and cultivate the next generation of prominent, diverse leaders in gastroenterology and hepatology,” said Byron Cryer, MD, FORWARD Program cochair, AGA Equity Project cochair, and associate dean for the Office of Faculty Diversity & Development at UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas. “This class includes gastroenterology and hepatology’s most gifted leaders who are trailblazers for the future of academic medicine.”

• Muyiwa Awoniyi, MD, PhD
• Bubu Banini, MD, PhD
• Manuel Braga Neto, MD, PhD
• Jihane Benhammou, MD, PhD
• Cassandra Fritz, MD
• Joel Gabre, MD
• Rachel Issaka, MD, MAS
• Jeremy Louissaint, MD
• Vivian Ortiz, MD
• Nicolette Rodriguez, MD, MPH

Each Scholar has been paired with a top GI investigator for the duration of the program who will provide mentorship and help in developing the Scholar’s leadership skills and strengthening their research and management skills to ensure continued success in their careers. In addition to the GI mentors, the program will be introducing five “near-peer” mentors from the inaugural FORWARD cohort who will each serve as program guides for the current cohort Scholars. 

Learn more about this program at https://www.gastro.org/aga-leadership/initiatives-and-programs/forward-program.

We’re proud to announce the 10 early-career physician-scientists selected as “Scholars” for the 2021-2023 AGA FORWARD Program: Fostering Opportunities Resulting in Workforce and Research Diversity, supported by NIH (1R25DK118761-01). This new cohort of Scholars will participate in a training and mentorship program designed to provide concrete and applicable skills to promote physician-scientists from underrepresented populations in the pursuit of successful careers.

“AGA is excited to announce our second cohort of FORWARD Program Scholars as we continue in our promise to inspire and cultivate the next generation of prominent, diverse leaders in gastroenterology and hepatology,” said Byron Cryer, MD, FORWARD Program cochair, AGA Equity Project cochair, and associate dean for the Office of Faculty Diversity & Development at UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas. “This class includes gastroenterology and hepatology’s most gifted leaders who are trailblazers for the future of academic medicine.”

• Muyiwa Awoniyi, MD, PhD
• Bubu Banini, MD, PhD
• Manuel Braga Neto, MD, PhD
• Jihane Benhammou, MD, PhD
• Cassandra Fritz, MD
• Joel Gabre, MD
• Rachel Issaka, MD, MAS
• Jeremy Louissaint, MD
• Vivian Ortiz, MD
• Nicolette Rodriguez, MD, MPH

Each Scholar has been paired with a top GI investigator for the duration of the program who will provide mentorship and help in developing the Scholar’s leadership skills and strengthening their research and management skills to ensure continued success in their careers. In addition to the GI mentors, the program will be introducing five “near-peer” mentors from the inaugural FORWARD cohort who will each serve as program guides for the current cohort Scholars. 

Learn more about this program at https://www.gastro.org/aga-leadership/initiatives-and-programs/forward-program.

We’re proud to announce the 10 early-career physician-scientists selected as “Scholars” for the 2021-2023 AGA FORWARD Program: Fostering Opportunities Resulting in Workforce and Research Diversity, supported by NIH (1R25DK118761-01). This new cohort of Scholars will participate in a training and mentorship program designed to provide concrete and applicable skills to promote physician-scientists from underrepresented populations in the pursuit of successful careers.

“AGA is excited to announce our second cohort of FORWARD Program Scholars as we continue in our promise to inspire and cultivate the next generation of prominent, diverse leaders in gastroenterology and hepatology,” said Byron Cryer, MD, FORWARD Program cochair, AGA Equity Project cochair, and associate dean for the Office of Faculty Diversity & Development at UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas. “This class includes gastroenterology and hepatology’s most gifted leaders who are trailblazers for the future of academic medicine.”

• Muyiwa Awoniyi, MD, PhD
• Bubu Banini, MD, PhD
• Manuel Braga Neto, MD, PhD
• Jihane Benhammou, MD, PhD
• Cassandra Fritz, MD
• Joel Gabre, MD
• Rachel Issaka, MD, MAS
• Jeremy Louissaint, MD
• Vivian Ortiz, MD
• Nicolette Rodriguez, MD, MPH

Each Scholar has been paired with a top GI investigator for the duration of the program who will provide mentorship and help in developing the Scholar’s leadership skills and strengthening their research and management skills to ensure continued success in their careers. In addition to the GI mentors, the program will be introducing five “near-peer” mentors from the inaugural FORWARD cohort who will each serve as program guides for the current cohort Scholars. 

Learn more about this program at https://www.gastro.org/aga-leadership/initiatives-and-programs/forward-program.

Registration is now open for the Gut Microbiota for Health (GMFH) World Summit 2022, taking place March 12-13 in Washington, D.C., and virtually.  

Organized by AGA and the European Society of Neurogastroenterology and Motility (ESNM), the GMFH World Summit is the preeminent international meeting on the gut microbiome for clinicians, dietitians and researchers. 

Now in its 10th year, the program for this year’s conference will focus on “The Gut Microbiome in Precision Nutrition and Medicine.” Join us to gain a deeper understanding of the role of the gut microbiome in precision medicine and discover personalized approaches to modulating the gut microbiome that may promote health and improve patient outcomes for a variety of disorders and diseases.

Registration is now open for the Gut Microbiota for Health (GMFH) World Summit 2022, taking place March 12-13 in Washington, D.C., and virtually.  

Organized by AGA and the European Society of Neurogastroenterology and Motility (ESNM), the GMFH World Summit is the preeminent international meeting on the gut microbiome for clinicians, dietitians and researchers. 

Now in its 10th year, the program for this year’s conference will focus on “The Gut Microbiome in Precision Nutrition and Medicine.” Join us to gain a deeper understanding of the role of the gut microbiome in precision medicine and discover personalized approaches to modulating the gut microbiome that may promote health and improve patient outcomes for a variety of disorders and diseases.

Registration is now open for the Gut Microbiota for Health (GMFH) World Summit 2022, taking place March 12-13 in Washington, D.C., and virtually.  

Organized by AGA and the European Society of Neurogastroenterology and Motility (ESNM), the GMFH World Summit is the preeminent international meeting on the gut microbiome for clinicians, dietitians and researchers. 

Now in its 10th year, the program for this year’s conference will focus on “The Gut Microbiome in Precision Nutrition and Medicine.” Join us to gain a deeper understanding of the role of the gut microbiome in precision medicine and discover personalized approaches to modulating the gut microbiome that may promote health and improve patient outcomes for a variety of disorders and diseases.

Gastroenterology, an AGA journal, is proud to announce the release of a special collection of articles focused on the intersection of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) within gastroenterology and hepatology. This curated collection, under the guidance of the journal’s new DEI section editor Chyke Doubeni, MBBS, MPH, includes original research, reviews, commentaries, and editorials on matters of health disparities, socioeconomic determinants of health outcomes, and population-based studies on disease incidence among races and ethnicities, among others. New articles are added to the collection as they are published.

View the special collection on Gastroenterology’s website, which is designed to help you quickly and easily look over the latest DEI articles and content of interest. Recent articles include the following:

• “How to incorporate health equity training into GI/hepatology fellowships,” by Jannel Lee-Allen, MD, and Brijen J. Shah, MD.
• “Disparities in preventable mortality from colorectal cancer: Are they the result of structural racism?” by Chyke A. Doubeni, MBBS, MPH; Kevin Selby, MD; and Theodore R. Levin, MD.
• “COVID-19 pediatric patients: GI symptoms, presentations and disparities by race/ethnicity in a large, multicenter U.S. study,” by Yusuf Ashktorab, MD; Anas Brim, MD; Antonio Pizuorno, MD; Vijay Gayam, MD; Sahar Nikdel, MD; and Hassan Brim, PhD.

View all of Gastroenterology’s curated article collections.

Gastroenterology, an AGA journal, is proud to announce the release of a special collection of articles focused on the intersection of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) within gastroenterology and hepatology. This curated collection, under the guidance of the journal’s new DEI section editor Chyke Doubeni, MBBS, MPH, includes original research, reviews, commentaries, and editorials on matters of health disparities, socioeconomic determinants of health outcomes, and population-based studies on disease incidence among races and ethnicities, among others. New articles are added to the collection as they are published.

View the special collection on Gastroenterology’s website, which is designed to help you quickly and easily look over the latest DEI articles and content of interest. Recent articles include the following:

• “How to incorporate health equity training into GI/hepatology fellowships,” by Jannel Lee-Allen, MD, and Brijen J. Shah, MD.
• “Disparities in preventable mortality from colorectal cancer: Are they the result of structural racism?” by Chyke A. Doubeni, MBBS, MPH; Kevin Selby, MD; and Theodore R. Levin, MD.
• “COVID-19 pediatric patients: GI symptoms, presentations and disparities by race/ethnicity in a large, multicenter U.S. study,” by Yusuf Ashktorab, MD; Anas Brim, MD; Antonio Pizuorno, MD; Vijay Gayam, MD; Sahar Nikdel, MD; and Hassan Brim, PhD.

View all of Gastroenterology’s curated article collections.

Gastroenterology, an AGA journal, is proud to announce the release of a special collection of articles focused on the intersection of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) within gastroenterology and hepatology. This curated collection, under the guidance of the journal’s new DEI section editor Chyke Doubeni, MBBS, MPH, includes original research, reviews, commentaries, and editorials on matters of health disparities, socioeconomic determinants of health outcomes, and population-based studies on disease incidence among races and ethnicities, among others. New articles are added to the collection as they are published.

View the special collection on Gastroenterology’s website, which is designed to help you quickly and easily look over the latest DEI articles and content of interest. Recent articles include the following:

• “How to incorporate health equity training into GI/hepatology fellowships,” by Jannel Lee-Allen, MD, and Brijen J. Shah, MD.
• “Disparities in preventable mortality from colorectal cancer: Are they the result of structural racism?” by Chyke A. Doubeni, MBBS, MPH; Kevin Selby, MD; and Theodore R. Levin, MD.
• “COVID-19 pediatric patients: GI symptoms, presentations and disparities by race/ethnicity in a large, multicenter U.S. study,” by Yusuf Ashktorab, MD; Anas Brim, MD; Antonio Pizuorno, MD; Vijay Gayam, MD; Sahar Nikdel, MD; and Hassan Brim, PhD.

View all of Gastroenterology’s curated article collections.

The new AGA Clinical Practice Update on Surveillance After Pathologically Curative Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection of Early Gastrointestinal Neoplasia in the United States: Commentary offers advice regarding surveillance intervals using endoscopy and other relevant modalities after endoscopic removal of dysplastic lesions and early GI cancers with endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) which were deemed pathologically curative.

Main takeaway: Patients with malignant lesions removed by curative ESD possess a higher risk of lymph node metastasis and should be surveilled more closely than those with resection dysplasia not associated with lymphatic spread. 

The new AGA Clinical Practice Update on Surveillance After Pathologically Curative Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection of Early Gastrointestinal Neoplasia in the United States: Commentary offers advice regarding surveillance intervals using endoscopy and other relevant modalities after endoscopic removal of dysplastic lesions and early GI cancers with endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) which were deemed pathologically curative.

Main takeaway: Patients with malignant lesions removed by curative ESD possess a higher risk of lymph node metastasis and should be surveilled more closely than those with resection dysplasia not associated with lymphatic spread. 

The new AGA Clinical Practice Update on Surveillance After Pathologically Curative Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection of Early Gastrointestinal Neoplasia in the United States: Commentary offers advice regarding surveillance intervals using endoscopy and other relevant modalities after endoscopic removal of dysplastic lesions and early GI cancers with endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) which were deemed pathologically curative.

Main takeaway: Patients with malignant lesions removed by curative ESD possess a higher risk of lymph node metastasis and should be surveilled more closely than those with resection dysplasia not associated with lymphatic spread. 

Gifts to charitable organizations, such as the AGA Research Foundation, in your future plans can ensure that your support for our mission to fund young investigators will continue even after your lifetime. See these three fast facts about planned giving.

• Planned gifts are complicated and confusing. They don’t have to be. There are many types of planned gifts: Most are simple and affordable, like a gift in your will or living trust. You just need to find the one that best meets your needs.
• Wills are only for older adults. Having a plan for the future is important – no matter your age. A will makes your wishes known and provides your loved ones with peace of mind.
• Planned gifts are only for the wealthy. Anyone can make a planned gift. Gifts of all sizes make a difference at the AGA Research Foundation. In fact, you may even be able to make a bigger impact than you thought possible when you make a planned gift.

For 2022, consider including a gift to the AGA Research Foundation in your will. You will help spark future discoveries in GI.

Want to learn more about including a gift to the AGA Research Foundation in your plans? Visit our website at https://gastro.planmylegacy.org or contact us at [email protected].

Gifts to charitable organizations, such as the AGA Research Foundation, in your future plans can ensure that your support for our mission to fund young investigators will continue even after your lifetime. See these three fast facts about planned giving.

• Planned gifts are complicated and confusing. They don’t have to be. There are many types of planned gifts: Most are simple and affordable, like a gift in your will or living trust. You just need to find the one that best meets your needs.
• Wills are only for older adults. Having a plan for the future is important – no matter your age. A will makes your wishes known and provides your loved ones with peace of mind.
• Planned gifts are only for the wealthy. Anyone can make a planned gift. Gifts of all sizes make a difference at the AGA Research Foundation. In fact, you may even be able to make a bigger impact than you thought possible when you make a planned gift.

For 2022, consider including a gift to the AGA Research Foundation in your will. You will help spark future discoveries in GI.

Want to learn more about including a gift to the AGA Research Foundation in your plans? Visit our website at https://gastro.planmylegacy.org or contact us at [email protected].

Gifts to charitable organizations, such as the AGA Research Foundation, in your future plans can ensure that your support for our mission to fund young investigators will continue even after your lifetime. See these three fast facts about planned giving.

• Planned gifts are complicated and confusing. They don’t have to be. There are many types of planned gifts: Most are simple and affordable, like a gift in your will or living trust. You just need to find the one that best meets your needs.
• Wills are only for older adults. Having a plan for the future is important – no matter your age. A will makes your wishes known and provides your loved ones with peace of mind.
• Planned gifts are only for the wealthy. Anyone can make a planned gift. Gifts of all sizes make a difference at the AGA Research Foundation. In fact, you may even be able to make a bigger impact than you thought possible when you make a planned gift.

For 2022, consider including a gift to the AGA Research Foundation in your will. You will help spark future discoveries in GI.

Want to learn more about including a gift to the AGA Research Foundation in your plans? Visit our website at https://gastro.planmylegacy.org or contact us at [email protected].

Angel O. Coz Yataco, MD, FCCP, is a Pulmonary and Critical Care specialist at the Respiratory Institute at the Cleveland Clinic. He previously served as the Medical Director of the Intensive Care Unit at the Lexington Veterans Affairs Medical Center and was an Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Kentucky. Dr. Coz received his medical degree from Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia in Lima, Peru. He completed residency training in internal medicine and did his fellowship training in pulmonary and critical care medicine at Henry Ford Hospital.

Dr. Coz was a member of the 2021 Surviving Sepsis Campaign Guidelines panel and serves on the American Board of Internal Medicine Governance – Critical Care Medicine examination board. He holds multiple leadership positions at CHEST—Chair of the Council of NetWorks; a member of the Guidelines Oversight Committee; and served as the Critical Care Section Editor for CHEST Physician since 2018. He has been awarded the Distinguished CHEST Educator (DCE) designation every year since its inception in 2018 and received the CHEST Presidential Citation Award in 2021.

Dr. Coz has given multiple talks on critical care, sepsis, and pulmonary topics at the national and international level. He has published several peer-reviewed articles and serves as ad hoc reviewer for CHEST, Journal of Critical Care, Critical Care Medicine, Critical Connections, Intensive Care Medicine, and Annals of Pharmacotherapy, among others.


 

Angel O. Coz Yataco, MD, FCCP, is a Pulmonary and Critical Care specialist at the Respiratory Institute at the Cleveland Clinic. He previously served as the Medical Director of the Intensive Care Unit at the Lexington Veterans Affairs Medical Center and was an Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Kentucky. Dr. Coz received his medical degree from Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia in Lima, Peru. He completed residency training in internal medicine and did his fellowship training in pulmonary and critical care medicine at Henry Ford Hospital.

Dr. Coz was a member of the 2021 Surviving Sepsis Campaign Guidelines panel and serves on the American Board of Internal Medicine Governance – Critical Care Medicine examination board. He holds multiple leadership positions at CHEST—Chair of the Council of NetWorks; a member of the Guidelines Oversight Committee; and served as the Critical Care Section Editor for CHEST Physician since 2018. He has been awarded the Distinguished CHEST Educator (DCE) designation every year since its inception in 2018 and received the CHEST Presidential Citation Award in 2021.

Dr. Coz has given multiple talks on critical care, sepsis, and pulmonary topics at the national and international level. He has published several peer-reviewed articles and serves as ad hoc reviewer for CHEST, Journal of Critical Care, Critical Care Medicine, Critical Connections, Intensive Care Medicine, and Annals of Pharmacotherapy, among others.


 

Angel O. Coz Yataco, MD, FCCP, is a Pulmonary and Critical Care specialist at the Respiratory Institute at the Cleveland Clinic. He previously served as the Medical Director of the Intensive Care Unit at the Lexington Veterans Affairs Medical Center and was an Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Kentucky. Dr. Coz received his medical degree from Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia in Lima, Peru. He completed residency training in internal medicine and did his fellowship training in pulmonary and critical care medicine at Henry Ford Hospital.

Dr. Coz was a member of the 2021 Surviving Sepsis Campaign Guidelines panel and serves on the American Board of Internal Medicine Governance – Critical Care Medicine examination board. He holds multiple leadership positions at CHEST—Chair of the Council of NetWorks; a member of the Guidelines Oversight Committee; and served as the Critical Care Section Editor for CHEST Physician since 2018. He has been awarded the Distinguished CHEST Educator (DCE) designation every year since its inception in 2018 and received the CHEST Presidential Citation Award in 2021.

Dr. Coz has given multiple talks on critical care, sepsis, and pulmonary topics at the national and international level. He has published several peer-reviewed articles and serves as ad hoc reviewer for CHEST, Journal of Critical Care, Critical Care Medicine, Critical Connections, Intensive Care Medicine, and Annals of Pharmacotherapy, among others.