ISG Winter Meeting sees large attendance

The 2025 Irish Society of Gastroenterology (ISG) Conference, held in the Killashee Hotel in Naas, Co Kildare, on 20–21 November saw an attendance of over 250 delegates treated to topical presentations on a range of subjects from leading national and international speakers.

Speaking to the Medical Independent, ISG President Dr Manus Moloney said the meeting had been “a great success”, and praised the speakers and scientific committee for putting together the carefully considered programme.

Reacting to Dr Johnny Cash’s presentation on implementing Northern Ireland’s electronic patient record (EPR), Dr Moloney said it would be beneficial if Ireland also chose the same EPR company.

He noted that the system in Northern Ireland allows connections with the wider UK system and that for research and clinical purposes it could be “a huge step forward”.

Dr Moloney said he agreed with Dr Cash that doctors need to actively engage with the process of designing and rolling out EPRs in their own specialties and units to ensure the best possible system.

On the growing role of artificial intelligence (AI) in medicine, which was discussed by Prof Marietta Iacucci, Dr Moloney said it raises important questions about how much clinical decision-making will be handed over to machines in the near future. “In its current form, is AI really [just] a very labour-saving device or can it go further? Could it answer some really big questions such as what is the root cause of inflammatory bowel disease or what is the best treatment?”

For medical education and training purposes, the future role of AI in clinical decision-making is at an important juncture, “which reflects a big change”, he added.

Elaborating, Dr Moloney said that there are legal and regulatory oversight issues that need to be teased out on who is ultimately responsible when errors occur. He noted that if AI has a role in medical decision-making, it may make mistakes; however, humans do too, and the key question is whether AI will be more reliable than humans. “That is what we need to determine.”

Dr Moloney also praised the quality of research submissions from trainees representing the whole island of Ireland to the meeting. There were 26 themed oral presentations and 48 posters presented.

Dr William Shanahan was the first recipient of the newly launched ISG Fellowship award. There were also a number of short-term bursaries awarded to successful candidates to cover the cost of travel and observerships.

Dr Moloney also extended his thanks to ISG CEO Mr Michael Dineen, Ms Cora Gannon and their team for all their work behind the scenes in making the meeting such a success.

The 2026 ISG Summer Meeting will be held in the Radisson Hotel in Limerick on 11–12 June.