Dr. Naresh Gunaratnam Elected President & Board Chair to Lead DHPA into its Second Decade
Washington DC – Dr. Naresh Gunaratnam of Huron Gastroenterology in Ypsilanti, Michigan has been named president and chair of the board of directors of the Digestive Health Physicians Association (DHPA). Dr. Gunaratnam and members of DHPA’s 14-member executive committee will lead DHPA’s health policy efforts to promote and preserve accessible, high quality and cost-efficient care in the independent gastroenterological medical practice setting.
This year the association, which is comprised of more than 2,600 physicians in more than 100 independent gastroenterology practices in 40 states, enters its second decade, growing from 11 practices in 11 states since being founded in 2014.
“Under the leadership of previous presidents, DHPA established its position as the voice for independent GI practices and the patients we serve. I am honored to have the opportunity to build upon their leadership,” said Dr. Gunaratnam. “I look forward to working with my DHPA colleagues to promote and protect independent GI and the care we provide to our patients.”
In its first decade DHPA has been instrumental in advancing policies to improve patient access to care in the private practice setting, including:
- Protecting the in-office ancillary services exception (IOASE) to the federal Stark Law that enables patients to benefit from specialized in-office pathology and advanced imaging services.
- Reforming the Stark Law and Anti-kickback Statute to enable more participation in value-based payment models incentivized by the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA).
- Removing barriers to colorectal cancer screening, by advocating for legislation, regulatory reform and by opposing burdensome prior authorization policies at the state and national levels.
- Working with other provider societies to successfully mitigate recurring cuts proposed to Medicare physician payments.
- Providing more than $300,000 in grants to support advocacy efforts by DHPA member practices on key state policy issues in California, Connecticut, Maryland, Washington, and many other states.
Dr. Gunaratnam succeeds Dr. Scott Ketover of MNGI Digestive Health, who will continue to serve on the DHPA executive committee as immediate past president. Dr. Gunaratnam most recently served as vice president of DHPA and previously served as chair of data analytics. He is currently the Research Director at Huron Gastroenterology in Ypsilanti, Michigan.
The DHPA board of directors also appointed a new slate of DHPA Executive Committee members. Dr. Sanjay Sandhir of Dayton Gastroenterology has been named vice president; Dr. Jeffry Nestler of Connecticut GI has been named secretary; Dr. Nadeem Baig of Allied Digestive Health has been named treasurer; Dr. Steve Kaptik of Washington Gastroenterology has been named chair of health policy; Dr. Bruce Hennessey of Ohio Gastroenterology Group has been named chair of data analytics; Dr. Kyle Etzkorn of Borland Groover has been named chair of political fundraising; Dr. Lisa Mathew of South Denver Gastroenterology has been named chair of communications; Dr. Esther Connor of MNGI Digestive Health has been named chair of diversity, equity, and inclusion; Dr. Raja Taunk of Anne Arundel Gastroenterology Associates has been named chair of next generation leadership; and Dr. Pradeep Bekal of Gastro Health Ohio, Dr. Austin Garza of Associates in Gastroenterology, and Dr. Ranvir Singh of Digestive Care Physicians have been named as at-large members.
###