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Hepatology Expert Network for APPs

Access expert-led MASH tools for diagnosis, staging, and management. Developed by GHAPP faculty specifically for APPs in community GI and li

Hepatology Expert Network for APPs provides Advanced Practice Providers with a means of professional development to receive clinical instruction and support for complex advanced liver care from liver specialists, collaborate with peers, and receive support for advanced liver care. As APPs' Magnitude of Study and Assess Liver Disease (MASLD) and Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatohepatitis (MASH) becomes more prevalent, APPs will increasingly be responsible for early disease identification, fibrosis risk assessment, and ongoing care of a disease throughout its process. However, complex cases and advanced fibrosis generally require consultation with a specialist. Accessible through the MASLD Community Network, the Hepatology Expert Network for APPs fosters the development of multidisciplinary teamwork, the enhancement of clinical confidence, and the expansion of patient-centered liver care, regardless of the clinical setting.

The Hepatology Expert Network for APPs makes available to Advanced Practice Providers specialists, opportunity for peer collaboration, clinical mentorship, and support for advanced hepatology care. APPs are able to confidently manage clients with complex metabolic liver disease through streamlined referral processes, multidisciplinary partnership, and the ongoing education of their peers.

The Hepatology Expert Network for APPs, along with the expert resources and professional connections provided through the MASLD Community Network, enhances patient liver health through improved collaborative care and patient-centered liver health outcomes.

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MASLD/MASH Specialist Directory

Access expert-led MASH tools for diagnosis, staging, and management. Developed by GHAPP faculty specifically for APPs in community GI and li

Made primarily for advanced practice providers (APPs), the Director of Specialists for MASLD/MASH provides these professionals the ability to easily obtain contact information for liver specialists to assist with the referral, collaboration, and coordination of patient care. As APPs have the primary responsibility for the initial evaluation and detection of the risk for MASLD/MASH, their role is critical in determining the risk for advanced fibrosis and complex presentations that are of high importance when considering hepatology referrals. The MASLD/MASH Specialist Directory, as part of the MASLD Community Network, provides referrals for the first time, thereby improving multidisciplinary collaboration and continuity of care for patients across the area of metabolic liver diseases.

The Directory is instrumental for advanced practice providers to connect with liver specialists for patient care collaboration and coordination. By being members of the MASLD Community Network, advanced practice providers are able to access a comprehensive system of resources, education, and professional networking.

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Advanced Practice Provider Education on Metabolic Liver Diseases

Access expert-led MASH tools for diagnosis, staging, and management. Developed by GHAPP faculty specifically for APPs in community GI and li

As conditions like obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiometabolic syndrome become more prevalent, advanced practice provider education on metabolic liver diseases is becoming ever more critical. Primary care and specialty practices are seeing more and more metabolic liver diseases like steatosis, steatohepatitis and progressive fibrosis.

Advanced practice providers (APPs) are frontline providers for these processes. To ensure that APPs offer consistent, evidence-based services, they need clearly defined clinical learning. Innovative clinical resources and training are required to help providers adapt to changes in evidence. The MASLD Community Network provides APPs with resources to enhance their expertise in metabolic liver disease management along the continuum of care.

Educating advanced practice providers on the metabolic liver diseases creates the basis of the screening, risk stratification, treatment, and cohesive management needed for patient care. APPs, with the help of organized clinical educational materials, guidance, and publications, will be more than capable of managing the metabolic liver disorders and lessening the long-term complications. Advanced practice providers are able to refine their practice and enhance their ability to provide quality and accessible care through the MASLD Community Network.

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Primary Care Integration of Liver Health for APPs

Access expert-led MASH tools for diagnosis, staging, and management. Developed by GHAPP faculty specifically for APPs in community GI and li

For APPs, the integration of primary care with liver health enhances early identification, streamlines structured risk assessments, and facilitates the organized management of liver health issues as a regular component of everyday clinical workflow. With the rise of metabolic dysfunction–associated liver disease due to the growing prevalence of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and the cardiometabolic syndrome, primary care advanced practice clinicians (APPs) are in a prime position to spot patients who are at risk of liver disease and intervene before advanced fibrosis develops.

Primary care integration of liver health for APPs means liver assessments not being relegated to referrals and pulled away from metabolic assessments. After receiving some training, APPs are able to accurately screen patients' livers and positively affect the patients' future through the MASLD Community Network.

Liver health integration into primary care for APPs is a process that enables early detection, screening for risk factors, and ongoing management of liver health issues. Advanced practice providers can incorporate non-invasive screening, referral systems, and patient education within their practice to decrease the rate of liver disease progression and improve overall cardiometabolic health. With the expert education and collaboration tools from MASLD Community Network, APPs can incorporate liver health assessments into primary care and provide comprehensive, patient-centered metabolic liver care.

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Multidisciplinary Hepatology Care for Advanced Practice Providers

Access expert-led MASH tools for diagnosis, staging, and management. Developed by GHAPP faculty specifically for APPs in community GI and li

In today's transforming healthcare system, Advanced Practice Providers (APPs) engaging in multidisciplinary hepatology can assist with comprehensive and patient-centered management of liver-related disorders. With the growing metabolic liver disease burden, APPs are required to manage multi-specialty collaboration for streamlined pathway diagnosis, referrals, and follow-up management. Participating in multidisciplinary hepatology for APPs emphasizes collaboration, optimized and structured referral pathways, and operationalized integrated approaches concerning liver and related cardiometabolic risk factors. With the MASLD Community Network (MCN) APPs can strengthen existing collaborative care models and encourage the greater management of complex liver disease in patients.

Multidisciplinary hepatology care provided for advanced practice providers is a pathway for structured and collaborative multidisciplinary approaches for liver care. Through aligned referral pathways, collaborative care models, and integrated metabolic management, APPs can enhance the early identification, improvement and optimization of clinical management, and mitigate the risk of liver-related complications. Thanks to the expert educational resources, and professional collaboration through the MASLD Community Network, advanced practice providers can confidently facilitate and implement multidisciplinary approaches to liver care that are patient-centered, and aligned with the best clinical practice guidelines.

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Managing Cardiometabolic Risk Factors: The APP Role

Access expert-led MASH tools for diagnosis, staging, and management. Developed by GHAPP faculty specifically for APPs in community GI and li

The Role of Advanced Practice Providers in Managing Cardiometabolic Risk Factors helps in understanding the impact of metabolic liver disease and the long-term implications on cardiovascular and hepatic health. Advanced Practice Providers (APPs) have the capability to guide lifestyle changes, streamline metabolic control, and integrate patient-centered care in both primary and specialty domains. Proactive risk management is essential, given the severity of conditions such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, dyslipidemia, and hypertension, which are known to exacerbate metabolic liver disease and advance fibrosis. APPs have the opportunity to significantly enhance their management of cardiometabolic risk factors through evidenced-based teaching, expert recommendations, and the clinical tools available on the MASLD Community Network.

In the midst of managing risks and issues associated with cardiometabolic diseases, the APP role is foundational to evolving the challenges faced within the field of metabolic liver diseases and associated cardiovascular morbidities. Advanced practice providers have the potential to affect the long-term health outlook of the patients through lifestyle changes, improved metabolic control, and patient care pathways. With the expert training and shared resources of the MASLD Community Network, APPs are well equipped to take charge of managing cardiometabolic risks and providing integrated, patient-focused care.

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Liver Stiffness Measurement (LSM) Best Practices for APPs

Access expert-led MASH tools for diagnosis, staging, and management. Developed by GHAPP faculty specifically for APPs in community GI and li

The best practices for APPs involving the liver stiffness measurement (LSM) are important to ensure accurate evaluations of liver fibrosis, appropriate risk categorization, and the effective assimilation of elastography into clinical practices. As the metabolic liver disease continues to worsen with the increasing prevalence of liver disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiometabolic syndrome, APPs are imperative in determining which patients do, in fact, have a risk of advanced fibrosis. LSM, with the highest frequency of use being via vibration-controlled transient elastography (VCTE), is reliable and a non-invasive way to measure the severity of or, in this case, the degree of liver fibrosis. With technique optimization, APPs will improve the overall process and the associated outcomes of the patients when assessing the disease via non-invasive methods. With the structured education and expert mentoring found on the MASLD Community Network, advanced practice providers are afforded the opportunity to enhance their practice with the use of "best practices" for LSM.

APPs can use LSM best practices to optimize techniques, improve the quality (and accuracy) of their interpretations and enhance their overall clinical practice. Using LSM and a comprehensive stepwise approach, APPs can determine the risk of fibrosis in patients and make timely clinical care decisions. With expert education and resources from MASLD Community Network, APPs can use LSM to safely and effectively manage liver metabolic disease care.

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VCTE and FibroScan Training for Advanced Practice Providers

Access expert-led MASH tools for diagnosis, staging, and management. Developed by GHAPP faculty specifically for APPs in community GI and li

Today's clinicians must be able to comfortably perform and incorporate elements of non-invasive fibrosis assessment into daily practice. VCTE (Vibration Controlled Transient Elastography) or FibroScan is a primary assessment tool for determining liver stiffness and steatosis and is an alternative to the more invasive liver biopsy. With the alarming rise in prevalence of metabolic liver disease, the early detection and risk stratification of the disease continues to fall on the shoulders of Advanced Practice Providers (APPs). This is why the VCTE and FibroScan training for advanced practice providers is so important, and why the MASLD Community Network has been able to support clinician's for accurate performance, reliable clinical integration, and assessment of the elastography.

VCTE and FibroScan training for advanced practice providers offers the opportunity for non-invasive, and accurate, assessments of fibrosis to be performed and the results to be incorporated into a patient-centered approach. When elastography is used with other tools, such as serum-based scores and a defined risk stratification process, it enhances the ability to detect diseases at early and monitor the diseases as needed. Advanced practice providers are able to use VCTE in their practice to promote improved health in people with metabolic liver diseases as a result of the professional network MASLD Community Network.

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Non-invasive Tests (NITs) in Liver Disease for APPs

Access expert-led MASH tools for diagnosis, staging, and management. Developed by GHAPP faculty specifically for APPs in community GI and li

Neoteric metabolic liver care incorporates non-invasive testing (NITs) in liver disease for APPs, allowing advanced practice providers to gauge the degree of liver fibrosis, refine their clinical approach, and circumvent invasive interventions. Given the alarming rise in metabolic liver ailments due to increasing incidences of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and metabolic syndrome, APPs are juggling multiple responsibilities including the crucial tasks of early recognition and systematic risk stratification. Validated tools such as fibrosis scores and elastography-based fibrosis scores are incorporated into NITs in liver disease for APPs, and have been designed to help clinicians target high-risk patients and decrease the burden of excessive referrals and interventions. The MASLD Community Network provides expert tutorials, digital tools, and interdisciplinary collaborations to APPs to enable them to efficiently apply NITs in the provision of routine and evidence-based care for patients with metabolic liver disorders.

NITs in liver disease for APPs offer a unique, evidence-based approach to metabolic liver disease and fibrosis risk evaluation and clinical decision support. By utilizing a combination of serum-based scores, imaging technologies, and algorithms, APPs can effectively identify high-risk individuals and direct them to the right care. With the resources and networking available through the MASLD Community Network, advanced practice providers can use the NITs for routine clinical practice and enhance the long-term health of patients with liver and metabolic issues.

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APP Guide to FIB-4 Index Interpretation

Access expert-led MASH tools for diagnosis, staging, and management. Developed by GHAPP faculty specifically for APPs in community GI and li

Advanced practice providers (APPs) involved in the care of patients with potential metabolic liver disease would greatly benefit from the APP Guide to FIB-4 Index Interpretation. The FIB-4 index is a primary non-invasive tool used in the evaluation of liver fibrosis to assess the level of risk (low, moderate, or high) a patient has for developing advanced liver fibrosis. Given that advanced fibrosis is the leading predictor of morbidity and mortality related to liver disease, it is especially important to have a thorough understanding of how to calculate, interpret, and clinically utilize the FIB-4, along with its associated limitations. Through the MASLD Community Network, the structured education and mentorship provided by APPs will facilitate the assimilation of FIB-4 index interpretation into clinical practice and enhance the evaluation of liver disease within the at-risk patient population.

The APP guide to FIB-4 index interpretation gives advanced practice providers the ability to calculate, interpret and operationalize FIB-4 scores to evaluate liver disease in a more systematic way. With the knowledge of the calculation process, the score thresholds, and their clinical utility and limitations, APPs can make better decisions regarding care to detect advanced fibrosis sooner. With the continuing education and guidance from the MASLD Community Network, Advanced Practice Providers have the opportunity to create uniform, evidence-based assessments of fibrosis risk and improve the longevity of metabolic and liver health.

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Advanced Fibrosis Risk Stratification for Advanced Practice Providers

Metabollic Liver Disease Advanced Practice Providers (APPs) need actionable strategies for the identification of patients at risk for the rapid progression of metabolic dysfunction—associated liver disease (MDCLD) to help manage the increasing number of patients with metabolic dysfunction (affecting liver). Approximation of an individual's risk of experiencing liver-related morbidity and mortality through accurate and early identification of advanced fibrosis is crucial to the decision-making process to mitigate the risk of harm. The MASLD Community Network offers Advanced Practice Providers structured assessment models, non-invasive assessment tools, and instructional resources to help with the assessment of advanced fibrosis. APPs are better able to assess advanced fibrosis and help patients achieve their desired health outcomes through the implementation of risk assessment tools, and other evidence-based and patient-centered strategies available through the MASLD Community Network.

Advanced fibrosis risk assessment for advanced practice providers aids in the early identification of high-risk patients and the implementation of strategies to decrease long-term complications. APPs enhance both liver and overall metabolic health through the combination of clinically driven validated non-invasive techniques and a multidisciplinary approach. Masld Community Network offers collaborative resources and advanced practice providers the ability to practice timely, precise, and systematic fibrosis risk assessments in their clinical practice.

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Identifying Hepatic Steatosis: A Guide for APPs

Hepatic steatosis is one of the earliest detectable manifestations of metabolic dysfunction-associated liver disease. Therefore, identifying hepatic steatosis is an important aspect of contemporary metabolic liver care. APPs are often the first point of contact for clinical encounters with patients with obesity, type 2 diabetes, dyslipidemia, and hypertension, and clinical hepatic steatosis. APPs are required to understand the criteria for screening, the imaging techniques and alternative models of clinical best practice in order to ensure the accurate screening and appropriate follow up for clinical hepatic steatosis. APPs are able to identify areas for improvement in their clinical practice related to hepatic steatosis through expert-led education and clinical tools on the MASLD Community Network and improve their clinical practice on the evidence-based management of hepatic steatosis.

Strengthening the Detection of Hepatic Steatosis: APPs Guide is a comprehensive resource for all aspects of detecting hepatic fat, including the appropriate use of imaging, non-invasive risk stratification tools, and clinical best practices. Early detection is imperative to allow APPs to act prior to the onset of associated inflammation and fibrosis, resulting in better long-term outcomes in liver and metabolic health. Using the coaching and educational tools from the MASLD Community Network, advanced practice providers can understand the importance of identifying and streaming patients into organized, proactive metabolic liver care programs.

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MetALD Assessment and the Role of Advanced Practice Providers

Access expert-led MASH tools for diagnosis, staging, and management. Developed by GHAPP faculty specifically for APPs in community GI and li

As clinicians work through the challenges posed by the overlap of metabolic dysfunction and alcohol-related liver injury, the importance of advanced practice providers (APPs) and MetALD assessment has increased. Metabolic dysfunction-associated alcohol liver disease (MetALD) is a complicated syndromic presentation of metabolic liver disease complicated by alcohol, requiring detailed diagnostic workup, a structured and tailored clinical approach, and an intelligent management plan. In this context, APPs have an unparalleled opportunity to spearhead initiatives that focus on the early identification, risk assessment, clinical judgment, and the overall clinical management of patients with metabolic and alcohol-related co-morbidities. APPs, through evidence-based learning and the collaborative tools available at the MASLD Community Network, can improve their knowledge of MetALD assessment and adopt evidence-based approaches to optimize the clinical management of liver disease at various stages of metabolic liver disease.

At the core of improving early detection, risk assessment, clinical reasoning, and holistic patient care, is MetALD evaluation and the extended role of advanced practice providers. Through the combination of rigid screening, non-invasive fibrosis evaluation, alcohol counseling, metabolic optimization, and multidisciplinary teamwork, advanced practice providers can alleviate the burden of liver-related problems in the long term. With the educational materials and expert collaboration offered through the MetALD Community Network, advanced practice providers have the tools to offer consistent, evidence-based MetALD care, thereby enhancing liver and metabolic health.

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MASH Clinical Guidelines for APPs

Access expert-led MASH tools for diagnosis, staging, and management. Developed by GHAPP faculty specifically for APPs in community GI and li

As MASH transforms metabolic liver care, MASH Clinical Guidelines for APPs are crucial for integrating structured, evidence-based metabolic liver care. MASH is quickly becoming a leading cause for advanced liver disease, such as cirrhosis, and advanced practice providers (APPs) are the primary clinicians that oversee masses of patients suffering from the metabolic disease of obesity, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and dyslipidemia. APPs are first contact clinicians for primary and specialty care, which is why the MASH clinical guidelines for APPs are valuable to help clinicians practice their skill sets to the fullest and ensure they Perform early detection and proper staging of MASH, effective management and treatment, monitoring of long-term progression, and apply the best practices of metabolic liver care. APPs now have the needed confidence to span the continuum of care and implement MASH care management, thanks to expert-led education, digital guides, and collaborative practice at the MASLD Community Network.

MASH clinical guidelines for APPs offer the resources to diagnose, stage, create treatment plans, monitor disease, and implement best practices in the metabolic care of the liver. APPs, as frontline clinicians managing patients with multiple complex cardiometabolic conditions, have a critical involvement in the liver-related complication and the overall health burden. Advanced Practice Providers (APPs) through the MASLD Community Network, and structured care pathways, and non-invasive risk stratification, multidisciplinary team (MDT) collaboration, and ongoing education, are equipped to provide confident, consistent, and real MASH impact.

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MASLD Management for Advanced Practice Providers

Access expert-led MASH tools for diagnosis, staging, and management. Developed by GHAPP faculty specifically for APPs in community GI and li

As metabolic dysfunction–associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) becomes a growing concern for providers, the need for training in MASLD management for Advanced Practice Providers (APPs) becomes apparent. APPs are frontline clinicians in metabolic care/primary care. Training of APPs is an investment in the frontline workforce for the discipline of APPs in the early disease/longitudinal care continuum. With guidance in the form of education, clinical algorithms, and collaborative learning, Advanced Practice Providers skill in MASLD management on the continuum of care will enhance the care of patients.

There is a rapid increase in the burden of metabolic diseases (type 2 diabetes, obesity, hypertension, and dyslipidemia), and this is threatening the progression of MASLD. As patients may be asymptomatic in the early stages of MASLD, training in MASLD management for Advanced Practice Providers must support comprehensive screening, and emphasize standard pathways of care and current clinical education. The MASLD Community Network is the first digital resource APPs to liver care. The Network is composed of digital resources, expert opinions, learning symposiums, and professional networks.

The rapidly increasing cases of MASLD outlines the need for a scalable care model that is well structured and aided by education and collaboration. Advanced practice providers are important to this effort, from the initial screening and diagnosis to treatment and ongoing surveillance. The MASLD Community Network offers insight from specialists, educational resources, networking opportunities, and communication tools, making management of MASLD for advanced practice providers more structured, knowledge-based and meaningful. The Community Network has professional resources and clinical support for practical, real-world applications, providing consultations for community members to support clinical practice and resolve practice gaps.