S5 - E13 - Previewing Global Fatty Liver Day 2024

Surfing the MASH Tsunami

Fatty Liver Alliance Founder and President Mike Betel and Global Liver Institute Vice President for Liver Programs Jeff McIntyre join Louise Campbell and Roger Green to preview the premier MASH event for patient advocates, now known as Global Fatty Liver Day, which falls on June 13.
00:00:00 - Surf's Up: Season 5 Episode 13
Episode introduction, including brief quotes taken directly from panelists.
00:02:37 - Introduction/Remembering Stephen Harrison
Roger introduces the podcast. Each panelist shares a memory of Stephen Harrison.
00:11:44 - Groundbreaker
Each panelist shares one piece of good news from the previous week.
00:15:18 - Jeff Discusses Global Fatty Liver Day
Jeff starts by discussing how GLI came to its 2024 theme: "Act Now. Get Screened." Roger comments that this will require health systems to expand in scale and sophistication and shares Naim Alkhouri's critique (Season 4, Episode 50.3) of the current approach. He asks if US reimbursement policy is sufficiently developed and what patients can do. Jeff replies, "Get Screened."
00:25:46 - Fatty liver and obesity
Jeff notes the popularity and widespread discussion around anti-obesity medications, which also have effects on MASH. He expresses concerns that all this will lead to reduced focus on the liver.
00:26:43 - UK and AUS
Louise discusses activities in her two homes. Rather than focusing on liver disease, she prefers "poor liver health," which leads to cardiovascular disease and extra-hepatic cancers.
00:31:10 - Scanning patients as educational tool
Mike asks Louise to comment on scanning as an educational activity. Louise discusses the ability to generate an effective description and activate conversation when she delivers scan results right at the time of the patient visit. She then discusses the next steps if the first one doesn't work.
00:35:40 - Challenges and barriers for patients
To Jeff, the previous conversation between Louise and Michael provides "a really great synopsis" of the challenges and barriers to patient diagnosis and care. He announces that the GLI is planning to release its first Best Practices in Policy report. These challenges are more complex due to the need to find solutions for diagnosis and health system follow-through that will work around the world.
00:43:10 - Battles around healthy lifestyle policies
Jeff describes two challenging US health policy cases: the VA's decision (later reversed) to require biopsy for Rezdiffra and giant food companies lobbying to include added sugar as a healthy food item. Louise links the sugar question to "a big to-do" in the UK about children's teeth and access to dentists because poor dental health drives a 7x increase in the risk of liver cancer and advocates for generalized dietician training.
00:47:56 - The liver as elephant
Roger cites the parable of the blind people touching the elephant as a metaphor for a myopic view of liver health. He advocates teaching "the whole elephant" to healthcare professionals. Louise proposes an action point of "rule the liver out" before testing for related diseases. Roger suggests this is a dual mandate. For patients: Act Now. Get Screened. For providers, Rule the Liver Out.
00:51:21 - Initiatives for Global Fatty LIver Day and wrap-up
In lieu of a final question, Roger asks panelists to describe one specific initiative that is part of Global Fatty Liver Day. Mike and Jeff each describe screening activities.
00:58:13 - Question of the Week
Roger asks what listeners can do in their work to support the two simple mandates: act now, get screened, and rule the liver out.
00:58:44 - Business Report
This week's news on audience metrics, future episodes and this week's Vault conversation.