New Multidisciplinary Dysmotility Clinic Opens at Cleveland Clinic

Overview

Cleveland Clinic has long had the expertise to diagnose and treat people with gastroparesis and other gastric emptying disorders. A Dysmotility Clinic that opened in May 2015 now expands the scope of services to be more comprehensive, more multidisciplinary and more patient-centric.

“We’re focusing on identifying true pathology,” says Michael Cline, DO, a Cleveland Clinic gastroenterologist who is helping lead the new clinic. “Does the patient have gastroparesis or a motility disorder of the entire GI tract?” Some patients referred for gastroparesis actually have total gut dysfunction, for example.

Dr. Cline and colleagues plan to conduct research, publish their findings and maintain an ongoing registry. “We’re going to do a lot of great things for patients and the treatment of gastroparesis going forward.”

Services Offered

The Dysmotility Clinic combines expertise in gastroenterology, surgery, pain management, nutrition and psychology to treat conditions that include:

• Swallowing difficulties
• Achalasia
• Gastroparesis
• Other abnormal gastric emptying etiologies
• Chronic constipation

“We look at patients as a whole,” Dr. Cline says. “If a patient is referred for a gastric pacemaker, a surgeon and I find out how the condition is affecting his or her life and job, and we talk about other options before surgery.” The clinic also serves patients with existing pacemakers and those referred for SmartPill® GI motility testing.

“A multidisciplinary approach allows us to determine the best path for each patient,” Dr. Cline says.

Clinic Advantages

The clinic reopened in a location with more privacy for patients. It’s also patient-centric because “the patient stays in one room and we go in and out,” Dr. Cline says.

“Our clinic offers the benefit of a multispecialty group that evaluates patients from a medical, surgical and psychological standpoint to offer a ‘one-stop’ evaluation and treatment approach to this complex disease,” general surgeon John Rodriguez, MD, says.

Appointment scheduling is more streamlined. A new, dedicated Clinic Coordinator screens patients on the telephone before they come in, checks their medications and makes sure they complete all required testing.

Going forward, the clinic is seeking FDA approval to prescribe cisapride, a gastroprokinetic agent; planning more collaboration between Dysmotility Clinic providers on the main Ohio campus and other locations, including Cleveland Clinic Florida; and providing telemedicine for patients as well as a means for greater physician-to-physician collaboration.

To refer a patient to the Dysmotility Clinic, call 855.REFER.123.