#GIcommunity Industry Roundup – March 2021

Each month, the CDI team rounds up some of the biggest #GIcommunity research, news, and trends, and how they are impacting functional GI diagnostics and treatment of patients around the world.

While artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) is not new to the medical industry, the application and use in gastroenterology has been limited to date. However, new research studies have focused on advances in endoscopy, IBD remission predictions, and hepatology diagnostics. In a recent issue of Gastroenterology & Endoscopy News, experts discuss these AI-incorporating technologies and advancements for the gastro field.

Since 1997, the International Foundation for Gastrointestinal Disorders (IFFGD) has designated April as IBS Awareness Month. Additionally, since 2019, April 19^th has been officially known as World IBS Day. Throughout the month, health care practitioners, industry partners, patients, family members, and caregivers are encouraged to help increase public awareness and educate the public on the chronic GI disorder that impacts up to 45 million people in the United States.

As part of these efforts, CDI and MyGIHealth will join World IBS Day, Rome Foundation, and a panel of IBS experts to dispel myths and misconceptions of IBS during two virtual sessions:

• Session 1 will be aimed at patients, their families, and the public, and will take place on World IBS Day (April 19^th).
• Session 2 is aimed at all health care providers including GIs, primary care physicians, dietitians/nutritionists, and GI health psychologists, and will be held on April 26^th.

Hashtags for social posting during the month include #IBSAwarenenssMonth, #IBSEducation, #WorldIBSDay, and #LetsTalkIBS.

In a recent podcast with Gastroenterology & Endoscopy News, Freddy Caldera, DO, of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, discusses COVID-19 vaccines and what questions gastroenterologists might field from their patients about the injections.