MDLGI partners with top GI experts to expand most comprehensive gastroenterology test review service

May 19 2015

Med DataLink^® Gastroenterology, a leader in medical data management and remote intraoperative monitoring software announced the expansion of its market-leading gastrointestinal test analysis service in partnership with the world-renowned physicians of the Esophageal Function Testing Consortium.

A subsidiary of StatLink Systems^®, MDLGI provides hospitals; gastroenterologists; surgeons; capsule endoscopy programs; GI clinics; as well as GERD, esophageal and reflux centers around the globe a unique ability allowing consultation with the world’s leading GI experts for detailed analyses of esophageal function testing. The new, exclusive partnership with the Esophageal Function Testing Consortium (EFTC) provides physicians with access to the expertise of nine global thought leaders and physicians who perform esophageal reflux and manometry test analysis. This service, in turn, provides enhanced accuracy and clinical efficiency for the referring physician or facility, unmatched in health care today.

“Optimum patient outcomes require specialty intervention, equipment and analysis of data,” said Dana Capocaccia, president and CEO of StatLink. “As health care technology continues to progress and evolve, a greater demand for result accuracy, speed and efficiency will lead to an increase in outsourcing procedural readings to service providers like Med DataLink GI.”

Physicians within the EFTC are among the most recognized names in academic and clinical gastroenterological medicine. The EFTC consists of practicing and leading medical research physicians at such health care institutions as the Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, Northwestern University and the Washington University School of Medicine, among others. They actively participate in a broad spectrum of GI activities including authoring clinical guidelines, leadership roles in academic societies and peer-reviewed journals, publishing academic papers, in addition to having active clinical practices. Many have served in consultation with global health care companies to develop and evaluate esophageal function technologies. The group’s physicians are Dr. Donald Castell, Dr. William C. Dengler, Dr. Prakash Gyawali, Dr. Peter Kahrilas, Dr. Philip Katz, Dr. David Katzka, Dr. John Pandolfino, Dr. Joel E. Richter and Dr. Marcelo Vela.

“The Esophageal Function Testing Consortium will provide a much needed resource for physicians who are currently offering or interested in offering motility and reflux monitoring services for their patients, but who are limited in experience of interpreting the results from the study,” Pandolfino said. “These procedures are often utilized to make very important decisions regarding treatment plans and thus, a confident interpretation is paramount to good patient care. This service will provide physicians with the accuracy and reassurance required to help make these care decisions.”

MDLGI and the EFTC will accept tests from most manufacturers of gastroenterology testing products such as Medtronic, Sandhill Scientific and Torax Medical. This offering by MDLGI was promoted publicly for the first time at Digestive Disease Week, which ends today in Washington, D.C.

We believe an expert analysis offering can be an important complement to our reflux and manometry portfolio, said Bill Garner, vice president of market development at Medtronic. The availability of world expert analysis and diagnostic interpretation can lead to better patient outcomes and care.

The MDLGI esophageal, small bowel and colon tests are administered according to manufacturer’s recommendations. Many studies are performed using catheter- and capsule-based technologies that provide very accurate and clinically relevant information to the clinician, yet are more comfortable for the patient than previous technologies allow. MDLGI provides a secure, HIPAA-compliant portal named InfoCentral™ for physicians, clinics and hospitals to upload primary test data and demographics to the EFTC. This data is analyzed, and findings are rendered by one of the EFTC physicians.

“The key to our partnership with the EFTC is accuracy and efficiency,” Capocaccia said. “Every facility cannot have, in the flesh, the level of expertise we are providing through MDLGI. Physicians now have the ability to access experts who are affiliated with the top medical facilities around the world at a nominal cost with phenomenal benefits, most importantly, enhanced patient outcomes, heightened practice efficiency, risk reduction and greater patient satisfaction.”

For more information about MDLGI and the EFTC, visit www.mdlgi.com.