GI & Endoscopy

North Houston, Texas-based Memorial Hermann Endoscopy and Surgery Center physicians agreed to pay more than $1.5 million to settle Medicare fraud allegations, the Houston Chronicle reports.

A study, published in SpringerLink, examined seven different patient interventions to see which one was most effective in encouraging patients to complete a fecal immunochemical test.

Ardelyx's Tenapanor met its primary endpoint of reducing abdominal pain while increasing bowel movements during its second phase late-stage trial, Reuters reports.

Midwest Endoscopy Center has served Naperville, Ill., and its surrounding communities since 2007.

Here are four updates on GI companies from the past week:

The American Gastroenterological Association supports The Restoring the Patient's Voice Act, which would implement an appeals process for when a patient has been subjected to step therapy.

Allergan is under legislative scrutiny for signing over patent rights for its eye drug, Restasis, to the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe, Business Insider reports.

Gary Varilek, MD, is a gastroenterologist at Lincoln, Neb.-based Gastroenterology Specialties.

Here is how five major, publicly traded gastroenterology companies fared in the stock market for the week of Oct. 2 to Oct. 6, 2017.

Fecal immunochemical testing is undermined when patients fail to obtain a follow-up colonoscopy after positive test results. However, researchers identified two methods that improve follow-up rates, according to a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.