Latest / The Gastro Truth with Dr. Mel Ona / Looking for a Gastroenterologist in West Oahu? Listen To This First

Transcript

Looking for a Gastroenterologist in West Oahu? Listen To This First · The Gastro Truth with Dr. Mel Ona

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Aloha! If you're looking for a gastroenterologist near you in West Oahu, you've probably already figured out that your options are limited out here.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: Most specialists are in Honolulu.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: That means a 60 to 90 minute drive on H1, finding parking, taking half a day off work, and doing it all again for your follow-up.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: I built Ohana Gastroenterology and Ohana endoscopy in Kapalay specifically so that people in West Oahu wouldn't have to do that.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: If you're in Eva Beach, Colina, Kapalay, or anyone on the leeward side of the island, this video is going to help you figure out what to look for before you book with anyone.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Dr.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: Mel Ona, a board certified gastroenterologist in Kapalay.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: I've been practicing gastroenterology in this west side community for years.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: The patients I see every day are West Oahu people, families from Eva Beach, professionals commuting from Kapalay into town, residents from the Colina area and points west like Nanakouli and Wainai.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: People who have been putting off a colonoscopy because they didn't want to deal with the drive to Honolulu.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: People who've had digestive symptoms for months and kept pushing it down the list because life is busy out here, and adding a specialist appointment on the other side of the island felt like too much.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: I understand that.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: It's one of the reasons I set up here.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: West Oahu deserves access to the same level of GI care that exists in the rest of Honolulu without the commute.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_00: So here are three things worth looking for when you're choosing a gastroenterologist in this area.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: The first is whether you'll be seen in a dedicated endoscopy facility.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_00: Ohana Endoscopy is the only private practice-based ambulatory endoscopy center in West Oahu.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: That means the entire environment is designed specifically for these GI procedures.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: You want a place where every person in the room does this every day.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: The staff, the equipment, the workflow, all of it is optimized for one thing.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: The workflow is built around patient comfort and procedural quality.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: We're also proudly accredited by the Joint Commission, which reflects nationally recognized standards for patient safety and quality of care.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: Second thing is whether the practice is using current technology.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_00: GI Medicine has changed significantly in the last few years.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: AI-assisted polyp detection during colonoscopy is now available and has been shown to improve the rate at which physicians detect precancerous growths.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: That detection rate is one of the single most important quality indicators for a colonoscopy.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: The red flag is a practice that hasn't updated its equipment or its approach in a decade.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: Ask whether they use AI-assisted detection.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: If they don't know what you're talking about, that tells you something.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: The third thing is whether the doctor actually listens.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: I know that sounds basic, but in gastroenterology, it is genuinely the difference between a diagnosis and a prescription.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: Digestive symptoms are complicated.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: Bloating, reflux, irregular bowel habits, bleeding, abdominal pain.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: These can come from a dozen different underlying causes.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: A physician who listens carefully, asks about your diet, your stress, your sleep, your history, is building a picture.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: A physician who hears your symptoms and reaches for the prescription pad is managing you, not treating you.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: The red flag is walking out of a first appointment without understanding anything more about your situation than when you walked in.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: That should never happen.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: Now, let me tell you specifically who we help best, because not every practice is right for every patient.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: We see a lot of patients who have been dealing with digestive symptoms for a long time and have tried things on their own.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: Supplements, elimination diets, advice from the internet, maybe a medication from their primary care doctor.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_00: They come in because nothing has worked and they want someone to actually figure out what's going on.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: One patient told me she'd spent years being told her symptoms were normal.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_00: She saw multiple doctors, and it wasn't until she came to our practice that anyone ran the right test.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: Turned out she had small intestine bacterial overgrowth or SBO.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: Once we identified it and treated it, her symptoms resolved.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: She said it was the first time in years she felt like herself.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: That kind of story is not unusual here.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: We also see a lot of patients who are overdue for colorectal cancer screening and know it.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_00: They've been avoiding the colonoscopy for years, usually out of fear or inconvenience.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_00: We see patients who were referred by their primary care doctor and want to understand what the procedure involves before they commit.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: And we see people who've had a health scare, a family member diagnosed with colorectal cancer, blood where there shouldn't be blood, and they want answers quickly from someone they can trust.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_00: If any of that sounds like you, here's what I suggest.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_00: Book a consultation to the contact info below.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_00: We're in Kapalay, easy to get to from anywhere on the west side of the island.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_00: The first appointment is a conversation.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: We'll go through your history, talk through your symptoms or your screening timeline, and make sure you leave with a clear picture of what the next step is.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: No pressure, no rushing you toward a procedure you're not ready for or may not yet need.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: Just a straightforward conversation with someone who has been taking care of West Oahu patients for years and genuinely wants to help you figure this out.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_00: The link is below.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_00: We hope to see you soon.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_00: Mahalo.