To help our members and their patients come together on the goal of high-quality patient care, the AGA has launched a new patient education initiative.
AGA’s new digital library of patient education materials covers 25 GI-related topics and conditions to help make patient care more efficient and valuable. The resources provide easy-to-read, practical information for gastroenterologists to use with their patients before, during, and after their appointments.
Key components of the initiative are a digital PatientINFO Center and partnership with the MyGiHealth app.
“As a gastroenterologist in a busy practice, I know how hard it is to ensure that patients have the credible and unbiased information they need to manage their care,” said J. Sumner Bell, MD, AGAF, AGA patient initiative adviser. “While getting a patient up to speed is an important part of high-quality care, it’s often complicated by language barriers and low education levels.”
The AGA patient education materials were reviewed by gastroenterology and hepatology experts, so health care providers and their patients can be assured of medical accuracy. To improve patient understanding and conversations, all AGA patient education materials were written at a low reading level and are available in both English and Spanish.
AGA patient education materials on GI and hepatology conditions, procedures, and diet and medication can be viewed in the AGA PatientINFO Center.
In addition, through a new partnership, AGA and MyGiHealth hope to bring increased value to AGA members and their patients. The MyGiHealth app, developed by researchers at Cedars-Sinai and the University of Michigan, is a web and mobile app that was built by GI doctors to strengthen the interaction between GIs and their patients. The app uses validated questionnaires to measure GI symptoms and collect a full history of presenting illness prior to the patient visit. Once completed, the information is transformed into a symptom report that is sent to the gastroenterologist’s clinic for review.
