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Gastroenterology is a subspecialty of Internal Medicine and is the branch of medicine in which the digestive system, including the stomach, intestines, and associated organs, and their disorders are studied. Doctors who specialize in the field are called Gastroenterologists. Gastroenterologists must first complete seven or more years of medical school and postgraduate training and become board certified in Internal Medicine. Then, for an additional two to three years, they study conditions specific to the GI tract. Hepatology or hepatobiliary medicine encompasses the study of the liver, pancreas, and biliary tree and is traditionally considered a subspeciality.
As internists, Gastroenterologists focus on adults. Their role is to prevent, diagnose and treat conditions and disorders of the GI tract in adult patients. But as broadly trained internists, they may also perform a general physical check-up. If a condition is found that falls within gastroenterology, they will provide the treatment. If it requires the services of another physician, they should make a referral. Gastroenterologists may perform routine laboratory studies for patients undergoing a complete office examination.
Not everyone who suffers from digestive problems needs a gastroenterologist. Many digestive disturbances are diagnosed and managed well by general internists, surgeons and others. The skills of a Gastroenterologist are most necessary when special knowledge in diagnosis and treatment is required.
Gastroenterologists do not usually perform surgery. They may, however, perform procedures such as liver biopsy and examinations of the esophagus, stomach, small and large bowel, through the use of special flexible medical instruments called endoscopes.
In most cases, patients still need a general internist or other primary care physician for medical care unrelated to the digestive tract, although some gastroenterologists maintain a general internal medicine practice as well as their subspecialty. If a patient has been referred by a primary care physician to a gastroenterologist, he or she will probably be referred back to the primary physician for follow-up care. If a patient needs continuing care for GI-related conditions, the primary care physician and gastroenterologist, working together, will recommend a course of treatment.
Medical Opinions Associates has Board-certified Gastroenterologists who review medical records, draft opinion letters, and provide on-going litigation support, including consultation, deposition, and trial testimony. One of our medical expert Gastroenterologists is in private practice near Atlanta and is Medical Director of an Atlanta-area hospital. Another, after receiving his MD from the New York University School of Medicine is a Clinical Associate in Medicine at two Boston-area hospitals and has been an Instructor in Medicine at the Harvard Medical School and Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Tufts University Medical School. Another Medical Opinions Gastroenterologist is further certified in Transplant Hepatology and currently serves as Assistant Professor of Medicine and Associate Medical Director of Liver Transplantation, Division of Transplantation, Department of Surgery at a major Texas medical center. Medical Opinions also includes among its Gastroenterology medical experts an MD from Oxford University who is currently an Assistant Professor in the Section of Digestive Diseases, Yale University.
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