Events

 Tram Tran, MD and Nicholas Nissen, MD of Cedars Sinai brought their team approach to patient care to the Orange County Gastroenterology Society’s September 20, 2017 dinner meeting at Taps Fish House & Brewery.  They address the Medical and Surgical Perspective of Liver Transplant.  

An overwhelming theme to the evening’s discussion was that liver transplants using Hep C, etc. organs that were deemed inadequate in the past now save lives every day thanks to new treatments to treat the patient post surgery.  Similarly, how the patient is treated…or not…prior to a liver transplant can weigh heavily on the patient’s chances of receiving a donor organ.  

This month’s lucky recipient of Medelitta’s $100 gift certificate was OCGI member Vincent Kao, DO.

Orange County Gastroenterology Society members and guests enjoyed an evening at The Summit House in Fullerton compliments of AbbVie.  Douglas L. Nguyen, MD of UC Irvine Health spoke on “Voices of Experience in Moderate to Severe Ulcerative Colitis”.  

The room was full of Dr. Nguyen’s admirers who were not disappointed with his delivery and wit and breadth of knowledge.

This month’s lucky recipient of Medelitta’s $100 gift certificate was OCGI member Brian Loh, MD.

Orange County Gastroenterology Society members and guests enjoyed an evening at Antonello Ristorante in Costa Mesa compliments of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.  Mazen Noureddin, MD of Cedars-Sinai addressed the topic of Fatty Liver while engaging the group in lively discussion and case studies.  Noureddin’s interaction with OCGI’s fellow members throughout the evening highlighted his collaborative approach to medicine with a bit of humor thrown in for good measure.

Mazen Noureddin, MD’s research focuses on the underlying mechanisms of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), new imaging modalities and exploring new treatments. He has conducted several original studies that have been featured in publications such as Gastroenterology, Hepatology and The American Journal of Gastroenterology, among many others. The Fatty Liver Program at Cedars-Sinai has many breakthrough clinical trials targeting new therapies in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and non-alcoholic steatohepatitisn (NASH), including those with advanced fibrosis and cirrhosis.

Mazen Noureddin, MD and Tsuyoshi Todo, MD, transplant surgeon with Cedars-Sinai, visited with local gastroenterology physicians throughout the evening, putting faces to the names of those with whom they have consulted and reconnecting with acquaintances.

This month’s lucky recipient of Medelitta’s $100 gift certificate was OCGI member Guari Garde, DDS.

In addition to the monthly gift certificate, Medelita has generously offered all OCGI members a one-time use discount code of 20% to be used on any Medelita products when they spend $100 or more. Simply visit http://www.medelita.com and enter OCGIDINNERPARTY at check out.

Please visit our Calendar for information on the August 23, 2017 Monthly Dinner at The Summit House in Fullerton.

Lucinda A. Harris, M.S., M.D. of the Mayo Clinic – Scottsdale traveled to Orange County, California to spend an evening with Orange County Gastroenterology Society (OCGI) to address “Treatment Options for IBS-D, IBS-C and CIC”.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals hosted OCGI at The Cellar in Fullerton.  All in attendance appreciated the time Dr. Harris took to go in to depth on the topic and to answer the many questions during the Q&A.  

Dubbed “Orange County’s Best Hidden Secret”, The Cellar in Fullerton was truly a unique experience and was enjoyed by all.  

Thank you, Ironwood Pharmaceuticals and Lucinda A. Harris, MD, for a lovely AND educational evening for OCGI members and guests.

Allan Effron, MD was this month’s winner of the Medelita $100 gift certificate for simply being the sixth OCGI member to sign in for the evening.  Congratulations, Dr. Effron!

In addition to the monthly gift certificate, Medelita has generously offered all OCGI members a one-time use discount code of 20% to be used on any Medelita products when they spend $100 or more. Simply visit http://www.medelita.comand enter OCGIDINNERPARTY at check out.

Please visit our Calendar for information on the July 19, 2017 Monthly Dinner http://www.ocgisociety.com/event/july-19-2017/ at Antonello Ristorante in Costa Mesa.

Gil Y. Melmed, MD, Director of Clinical Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Advanced Inflammatory Bowel Disease Fellowship Program and Clinical Research in the Division of Gastroenterology at Cedars-Sinai, addressed members of the Orange County Gastroenterology Society at its May 24, 2017 Monthly Dinner Meeting at The Capital Grille in South Coast Plaza.

The evening’s program was part one of a two part IBD Alliance/CME qualifying presentation by the GI Health Foundation.  This program is essential given the rapidly evolving treatment/management of IBD and the realization that the number of patients diagnosed and treated remains low.  Questions and comments following the presentation went well in to the evening.

Part 2 of the IBD Alliance topic will be presented by Gil Y. Melmed, MD on October 18, 2017.  

The winner of this month’s Medelita $100 gift certificate was Quang Phan, MD.  

In addition to the monthly gift certificate, Medelita has generously offered all OCGI members a one-time use discount code of 20% to be used on any Medelita products when they spend $100 or more. Simply visit http://www.medelita.comand enter OCGIDINNERPARTY at check out.

Please visit our Calendar for information on the June 21, 2017 Monthly Dinner  at The Cellar in Fullerton.

The Orange County Gastroenterology Society (OCGI) had the pleasure of spending the evening at The Ranch in Anaheim and discussing ulcerative colitis, MACRA and MIPS with Glenn D. Littenberg, MD compliments of AbbVie.

While maintaining a private Gastroenterology practice and independent ambulatory endoscopy center in Pasadena, California, Dr. Littenberg has long represented GI and internal medicine to the AMA CPT Panel. In 2006, he completed an 8 year term on the Editorial Panel. In addition, he had chaired the Coding Subcommittee of the American College of Physicians (ACP) for several years.

Currently, Dr. Littenberg is the CPT Advisor for ASGE and chair of ASGEs Reimbursement Committee in addition to having served as chair of the Practice Management Committee for 6 years. He wrote and edited many chapters of ASGEs Coding Primer: A Guide for Gastroenterologists, newly revised for 2016, and speaks widely on healthcare reform, coding, Medicare compliance, and trends in GI Practice.  He is the Chief Medical Officer of his 50+ physician GI group, inSite Digestive Healthcare which now spans from San Francisco to Orange County and is the largest GI group in California. He has spoken at national conferences about MACRA implications for GI practice and works with his “MIPS Task Force” within his group to plan the group’s reporting for MIPS.

The lively Q&A following Dr. Littenberg’s informative and often humorous presentation helped shed a light on the difficult yet inevitable changes to come in GI practices.  Dr. Littenberg has graciously shared his presentation slides with OCGI.

Allan M. Effron, MD was this month’s lucky recipient of the Medelita $100 gift certificate as the fourth OCGI member to sign in for the evening.  

In addition to the monthly gift certificate, Medelita has generously offered all OCGI members a one-time use discount code of 20% to be used on any Medelita products when they spend $100 or more. Simply visit http://www.medelita.com and enter OCGIDINNERPARTY at check out.

Please visit our Calendar for information on the May 24, 2017 OCGI Monthly Educational Dinner at The Capital Grille.