Laval, Quebec, Canada, October 12, 2026
Bausch Health Companies Inc., through its gastroenterology business Salix Pharmaceuticals, has reported positive findings from a six-month pilot study evaluating a standardized clinical pathway for managing cirrhosis in community gastroenterology practices. The findings, accepted for presentation at the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) 2026 Annual Scientific Meeting, demonstrate improvements in adherence to evidence-based monitoring and treatment recommendations across participating practices. The initiative was designed to reduce variations in clinical care by helping healthcare professionals follow consistent, guideline-based approaches to managing patients with chronic liver disease. The study included 4,251 patients with cirrhosis across five community gastroenterology practices, using population health analytics to identify gaps in care and monitor key performance indicators. The results highlight how structured clinical pathways can support more consistent follow-up, appropriate laboratory testing, medication use and chronic care management. Although the pilot demonstrated improvements across several measures, the findings remain preliminary and do not yet establish whether the pathway leads to better long-term clinical outcomes.
Six-Month Pilot Demonstrates Better Guideline Adherence
The study, titled Development and Implementation of a Cirrhosis Clinical Pathway: Outcomes of a 6-Month Pilot Study, evaluated the feasibility and impact of a multidisciplinary care pathway developed using current clinical guidelines and evidence-based practices. Academic and community-based healthcare providers contributed to its development, with implementation across five community gastroenterology practices over six months. Investigators tracked five key performance indicators: follow-up office visits, recommended laboratory monitoring, nonselective beta-blocker use in patients with varices, medication treatment to reduce hepatic encephalopathy recurrence, and enrollment in chronic care or principal care management programs. The analysis identified improvements in all five measures. Follow-up office visit adherence increased from 46.9% to 51.1%, while recommended laboratory monitoring rose from 61.5% to 63.5%. Nonselective beta-blocker treatment among patients with varices increased from 47.2% to 48.8%. Medication treatment rates intended to reduce recurrence of hepatic encephalopathy improved from 60.2% to 64.9%, while enrollment in chronic care management programs increased from 11.7% to 12.8%. These findings suggest that structured pathways and systematic monitoring can help clinical teams identify and address gaps in routine cirrhosis management.
Population Health Analytics Supports Consistent Care
A central component of the initiative was the use of the Cardinal Health PPS Analytics platform to identify care gaps and track adherence to predefined clinical pathway benchmarks. By using population health data, participating practices could assess whether patients received recommended monitoring and treatment and identify areas requiring improvement. This approach is particularly relevant to cirrhosis, a chronic liver condition associated with substantial morbidity, complex complications and frequent healthcare utilization. Patients may require regular laboratory testing, specialist follow-up, management of portal hypertension and treatment to prevent or control hepatic encephalopathy. Inconsistent implementation of these measures can create gaps in care, making standardized workflows an important quality-improvement strategy. The pilot suggests that combining clinical pathways with data-driven monitoring is feasible in community gastroenterology settings. However, the improvements were measured against baseline adherence rates, and the study did not establish that the pathway reduced hospitalizations, prevented complications or improved survival. Further evaluation will be necessary to determine whether the observed changes are sustained and translate into meaningful benefits for patients.
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Bausch Health and Salix Advance Liver Care Initiatives
According to principal investigator Peng-Sheng (Brian) Ting, MD, the findings demonstrate the potential value of clinical pathways in helping healthcare providers deliver more consistent, guideline-based care. The work also reflects Bausch Health’s broader focus on gastroenterology and hepatology through Salix Pharmaceuticals, which develops and markets treatments for gastrointestinal diseases. The study’s findings were accepted for presentation at the ACG Annual Scientific Meeting in Nashville, Tennessee, held October 9–14, 2026. Investigators believe that the pathway could serve as a scalable model for other community-based practices seeking to improve cirrhosis management through standardized processes and population health analytics. Nevertheless, the results should be interpreted cautiously because they represent a six-month pilot initiative, and the data remain preliminary pending presentation and further evaluation in peer-reviewed publications. Future research will help determine whether broader implementation can sustain improvements in guideline adherence and produce better patient outcomes. The initiative offers a practical example of how pharmaceutical companies and healthcare providers can support quality improvement beyond medicines alone by strengthening the systems used to deliver evidence-based care.
Source: Bausch Health press release
