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Surfing NASH returns to review the 2023 Innovations in NAFLD Care Workshop (INCBCN) which concluded on 27 May in Barcelona. Conference founders and directors Jeff Lazarus and Jörn Schattenberg discuss highlights and takeaways of the event with Louise Campbell and Roger Green.

This conversation revolves around the term preventive hepatology which was the focus of a roundtable. Roger asks whether taking a FibroScan into the community qualifies as preventive hepatology. Jörn suggests it might so long as the patient is properly identified. Jeff identifies one of the earliest papers on preventive hepatology from 2008 titled Minimizing symptoms and optimizing care. He goes on to promote the idea that the process of prevention needs to start earlier. This leads Roger to point to a moment of constructive disagreement in the meeting. He suggests that preventive hepatology needs to actually start before the patient ever gets to the hepatologist. Jeff mostly agrees and notes that on one level it all starts with Sustainable Development Goals outlined by WHO. Louise describes the idea that preventive hepatology is about more than the liver alone which leads Roger to throw out the term preventative metabolic health. Jörn suggests this to be an excellent ideal, but in a siloed health system we have to start by bringing disciplines together to break down those silos as INCBCN is designed to do.

As the session winds down, the group comments on the endocrinology session that Rising Tide co-host Ken Cusi chaired. The audience enjoyed seeing how these endocrinologists are focused on fatty liver disease with what Jörn describes as a practical view on extending liver care and management.

Listen on to discover the details revealed in the full episode. If you have questions or interest around the Innovations in NAFLD Care Workshop 2023, we kindly ask that you submit reviews wherever you download our discussions. Alternatively, you can write to us directly at [email protected].

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