Members of the medical community, certain medical device manufacturers and government regulatory agencies are allowing patients to spend an extra $15 billion dollars a year by allowing unnecessary, ...

Among individuals with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), a negative upper endoscopy is associated with decreased risk in incidence and mortality from gastrointestinal cancer. The benefit ...

Survival rates for upper gastrointestinal cancers are poor and oesophageal cancer incidence is increasing. Upper gastrointestinal cancer is also often missed during examinations; a predicament that ...

Nat Clin Pract Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2006;3(10):534-535. When considering the value of early endoscopy in upper gastrointestinal bleeding, we must first examine the overall value of endoscopy in this ...

Administering a lidocaine lollipop as a single-agent anesthetic to patients undergoing an upper gastrointestinal endoscopy procedure eliminated the need for sedation in the majority of patients. Upper ...

Heartburn is one of the most common reasons for people to see a doctor, and some physicians often use upper endoscopy to diagnose and manage gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). But most patients ...

Despite advances in our knowledge of celiac disease, the most current and authoritative recommendations conclude that diagnosis requires at least four biopsy specimens to be taken from the duodenal ...

Doctors may perform an upper gastrointestinal endoscopy to diagnose and help treat stomach ulcers. During the procedure, a healthcare professional inserts an endoscope through the mouth and into the ...

Use upper endoscopy wisely Inappropriate endoscopy use generates unnecessary costs and exposes patients to harms without improving outcomes. Although upper endoscopy is commonly used in the diagnosis ...

Here are the 2010 CMS reimbursement rates for five GERD-related upper endoscopy procedures in the ASC setting. 1. Esophagoscopy, rigid or flexible; diagnostic, with or without collection of specimen(s ...

Here are the 2010 Medicare payment rates for six upper GI procedures in the ASC setting. 1. Upper GI endoscopy including esophagus, stomach and either duodenum and/or jejunum as appropriate; with ...