Frank Manes, Chief Development Officer, Gastro Health

Frank Manes, chief development officer of Gastro Health, spoke with Invest: about physician-led growth and AI adoption. “Being an AI- and tech-driven platform is critical to helping physicians focus on clinical care, expanding access, and improving quality,” Manes said.

What are Gastro Health’s key priorities as it continues to evolve as a national gastroenterology platform?
For us, it is about evolving into what the future of independent physician practice looks like. A major focus is on being physician-led and professionally managed. Physicians need to be at the forefront, but they also benefit from professional management support to help execute the plan.

Another major priority is technology, including AI. Being an AI- and tech-driven platform is critical to helping physicians focus on clinical care, expanding access, and improving quality. Finally, we want to do that at scale, whether through acquisitions, joint-venture partnerships, or organic growth. If you are building a strong value proposition, you want to be able to impact as many people as possible.

How is Gastro Health positioning itself to meet growing demand for gastroenterology services?
It is a real challenge. Colorectal cancer is one of the biggest concerns because it is highly preventable when caught early through screening. The screening age was recently reduced from 50 to 45, and we are also seeing larger percentages of younger patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer.

For us, awareness is a major component. We are focused on eliminating the negative stigma around colonoscopy, which remains the gold standard for screening. Other tests can detect cancer, but colonoscopy is unique because it can actually help prevent it.

The other challenge is workforce-related. The population is aging, and physicians are not immune to that trend. There is already a shortage of gastroenterologists in parts of the country, and demand is growing faster than physician supply.

That means we have to recruit the best physicians and give them the tools they need to improve access without increasing physician burnout. You cannot simply ask physicians to do more. Technology and operational support are essential to helping them provide care efficiently and sustainably.

How do acquisitions and organic growth fit together in Gastro Health’s strategy?
We do not think of it as choosing one or the other. The practices that partner with Gastro Health want to grow. They want to build ambulatory surgery centers, invest in technology, and expand services for their patients that can be difficult for smaller independent groups to pursue on their own.

For us, partnerships are the starting point for organic growth. Partnering with the right physicians and practices gives us an entry point into a market, and then we can help expand what they are already doing well through invested capital, expertise, and technology.

We are not simply choosing random locations and opening clinics. We believe growth works best when it starts with the right physician partnerships and then builds from there.

How do you maintain a strong clinical culture while building a scalable GI network?
It is critical to have physicians in leadership roles and involved in decision-making. You cannot scale a large physician organization across multiple states without physicians helping shape the direction of the company.

We have physician leadership throughout the organization, including a chief medical officer and physician-led clinical quality committees. Physicians are also involved in areas such as AI initiatives and partnership discussions. They bring a perspective that business leaders alone cannot provide.

That physician voice helps us understand what is important at the point of care and keeps physicians engaged. It’s difficult to successfully implement process improvements or new technology if the physicians doing the work do not feel involved or heard.

How is Gastro Health using AI and data analytics?
If you are not already investing in AI, you are behind. Initially, we focused on back-office functions such as coding and revenue cycle management. Now, we are pushing further into clinical support and patient interaction.

One area is AI-powered call center technology that can help handle simpler patient requests through phone calls or text messages. Another major area is ambient listening. AI can listen during patient visits, document the conversation, and automatically generate notes in the electronic health record. That improves documentation quality while also reducing physician burnout caused by administrative work.

We are also using AI-assisted tools during procedures. Physicians still make the clinical decisions, but AI can help identify situations that may require closer attention during a colonoscopy or other procedure. 

In terms of EHR data, Gastro Health has one of the largest GI datasets in the country. Using that data to support clinical decision-making gives physicians additional confidence and insights while still leaving the final judgment to them.

How is Gastro Health approaching value-based care and patient engagement?
For us, value comes down to clinical outcomes and patient experience relative to cost. We know some practices may deliver comparable outcomes at higher costs, and others with lower costs that do not achieve the same level of clinical care or patient experience. Our focus is on delivering strong clinical outcomes while keeping costs reasonable.

That is why insurers and health system partners want to work with us. In GI, the industry is still largely fee-for-service, so our focus has been on becoming the strongest value proposition in the market.

Measuring clinical quality is a major part of that. We track outcomes, compare performance against benchmarks, and share those results with physicians. When someone falls below a benchmark, we have clinical leadership and processes in place to help improve performance.

Patient experience is equally important. Patients today are more consumer-driven and more aware of healthcare costs. They want timely access, smooth scheduling, good communication, and fewer administrative frustrations.

That is why we invest heavily in technology and integration. Patients may not always know the technical quality of a procedure, but they absolutely notice long waits, communication gaps, or billing issues. We want the entire experience to feel seamless.

What are Gastro Health’s priorities around physician recruitment and talent attraction?
Physician recruitment is one of the organization’s top priorities. Demand for GI care continues to outpace growth in the physician workforce, creating a highly competitive market for recruiting and retaining talent. For us, recruitment starts early. We build relationships with physicians during their fellowship training rather than waiting until graduation. We also invest in dedicated recruitment teams, educational programs, and outreach initiatives.

Ultimately, though, the biggest advantage is having physicians inside Gastro Health who are happy and successful. That becomes the best recruiting tool possible. When physicians hear positive experiences from peers already working within the organization, it carries a lot of weight.

We also focus on offering competitive compensation, the latest technology, operational support, and a smooth transition into clinical practice. Our goal is to make Gastro Health the physician practice of choice for gastroenterologists entering the field.