S5 - E13.4 - A Deeper Dive into Care Challenges and Barriers Affecting MASH Patient Care

Surfing the MASH Tsunami

Jeff McIntyre uses the discussion between Louise Campbell and Mike Betel as a jumping-off point for discussing some of the larger care challenges and barriers associated with MASH patient care.
Jeff says the previous conversation between Louise and Michael provides "a really great synopsis" of the challenges and barriers to patient diagnosis and care. He reports that the Global Liver Institute is planning to release its first "Best Practices in LIver Health Policy" report. For GLI, these challenges are more complex due to the need to find solutions that will work in countries around the world. He also states that GLI believes the system needs to be intentional not only about diagnosis but also health system follow-through. This requires patient access and country systems set up for success. Roger raises the issue of having safe spaces for people to exercise in less developed countries. Louise recommends tier systems so that the solution for each country reflects the country's economics. Roger discusses a recent study showing a link between food insufficiency in 4-year-olds and MASLD and MASH later in childhood. Jeff describes the Stockdale paradox: policymakers cannot get caught up in the big picture without dealing with the short-term issues ahead of longer-term success.

Jeff describes two US health policy cases that reflect the Stockdale paradox: the VA's initial decision (later reversed) to require biopsy for Rezdiffra and lobbying by the giant food companies to have added sugar included in the list of attributes of healthy food.
Louise describes "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. She would like to see a generalized dietician who can work with patients on the range of metabolic issues. Mike says it "scares" him about where to start small. Louise gives an example of boiling water before dressing wounds and taking other health actions in Angkor Wat, which led to dramatic declines in diarrhea and the spread of many diseases.