What IBD Physicians Can Learn from Major League Baseball Managers

Abstract

Yogi Berra philosophized, “You can observe a lot by just watching.” Physicians managing inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients are constantly exposed to the recent literature, the visiting pharmaceutical representatives, and to the valuable presentations by the academic experts at the annual meetings. In my opinion, these presentations too often are advanced in a vacuum of unconvincing compartmentalization rather than as a well-choreographed management strategy that considers both the impact of any IBD drug and the nearly certain likelihood of a patient’s failed response or eventual relapse.