Celebrating Collective Effort

In 2025 I was reminded that quality improves faster when we subtract before we add. Most of our gains came from removing fragile steps and unclear handoffs, not from new protocols. Small sources of variation in endoscopy compound into big downstream effects, so the best “innovation” was tightening the basics (e.g., video recording, fluoroscopy use, etc.). We pushed toward simple, repeatable defaults, and we measured what mattered at the bedside.

– Fateh Bazerbachi, MD
St. Cloud Hospital
ASGE Quality Assurance in Endoscopy Committee

Progressive change in health care is sometimes curtailed by fear of archaic regulations and guidelines, but can be overcome by a collective voice of reason.

– Deepak Agrawal, MD, MPH, FASGE
UT Health Austin Dell Medical School Digestive Health
ASGE Quality Assurance in Endoscopy Committee
ASGE Sustainable Endoscopy Task Force

We have struggled with no-shows in a safety net system for years. We have finally helped improve our slot utilization with a combination of regular pre-procedure reminder calls, aggressively refilling late cancellations, and overbooking resulting in our highest number of procedures ever!

– Shreya Patel, MD, MPH
Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital
ASGE Practice Operations Committee

In 2025, I was reminded yet again that you’re only as good as your team. When you have a strong, engaged team around you, everything improves—clinical care, professional satisfaction, and even financial performance. Choosing the right people, and then intentionally investing time in training, mentoring, and supporting them, pays off in every dimension of practice. Strong teams create strong outcomes.

– Mankanwal Sachdev, MD, FASGE
Arizona Center for Digestive Health
ASGE Quality Assurance in Endoscopy Committee
2026 ASGE GI Unit Leadership Course Faculty

It is better to do something than to do nothing while waiting to do everything. ~ Winston Churchill We intend to set aside some time in mid-December to meet together for several hours, in person, and make a strategic plan for the year 2026.

– T.R. Levin, MD
Kaiser Permanente
ASGE Quality Assurance in Endoscopy Committee

From the ASGE AI Summit: That the race to adopt AI is an “arms race”. Payers are adopting AI (and other technologies) at a faster pace than hospitals or medical practices. Private practices will need to adopt AI in a strategic manner (i.e., best ROI) while determining whether their EMR/PM vendor can help meet those needs or if they will have to piece together a number of independent (point of service) solutions.

– Barbara Tauscher, MHA, FACMPE
Pacific Medical Practice Consultants
ASGE Practice Operations Committee

This year taught us that people are the true driver of quality. When every member of the GI team—from faculty, administrative team to the fellows—feels heard and valued, we not only improve outcomes but elevate the experience of care. Empowerment became our most important quality tool.

– Ekta Gupta, MD
Johns Hopkins Gastroenterology
ASGE Practice Operations Committee

One of our biggest takeaways this year was the value of operational discipline. Streamlined workflows, tighter handoffs between GI, anesthesia, and nursing, and more intentional data review drove meaningful improvements in room turnover and overall throughput. The lesson was clear: when we get aligned around process, performance follows.

– Neal Kaushal, MD, MBA
Integris Health Medical Group - Gastroenterology
ASGE Practice Operations Committee
2026 ASGE GI Unit Leadership Course Director