Klaus Mergener

About Klaus Mergener

Dr. Klaus Mergener is a physician executive and internationally recognized authority in gastroenterology and gastrointestinal endoscopy who has combined a successful clinical and academic career with a longstanding interest in medical innovation, device development, and healthcare management.Dr. Mergener attended medical school in Frankfurt and Heidelberg, Germany, as well as at Duke University and Harvard University in the United States. He completed his MD/PhD thesis \'summa cum laude\' at the Institute Pasteur in Paris and with 2008 Nobel Prize laureate Dr. Harald zur Hausen at the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg. He returned to Duke University for his residency in internal medicine and fellowship training in gastroenterology and interventional endoscopy. He later earned an MBA from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and holds board certifications in Gastroenterology (Germany and the United States), Medical Management, and Healthcare Quality Management.Dr. Mergener’s clinical expertise includes interventional endoscopy, cancer prevention, and pancreato-biliary diseases. For more than 25 years he has held leadership roles in academic medicine, community hospital-based practice, and private practice on two continents. He served as President of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE), one of the world’s largest endoscopy societies, and is one of only three foreign-born physicians to have held this position. His professional service includes Associate Editor of \'Gastrointestinal Endoscopy\', membership on the ASGE Foundation Board of Trustees, Co-Chair of the World Endoscopy Organization Outreach Committee, as well as service on the American College of Gastroenterology Practice Management and Training Committees and as ACG Governor of WA. Eight professional societies in the Americas, Europe, and Asia have awarded him honorary Fellowship or Master designations.From 2022 to 2024, Dr. Mergener served as Global Head of Medical & Scientific Affairs and CMO at Pentax Medical, where he led the development and global implementation of the company’s Medical & Scientific Affairs organization across three continents, including divisions for Clinical Affairs, Medical Education, and Professional Affairs.Dr. Mergener currently practices at Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center in Sioux Falls, SD, and with Gastro Health in Edmonds, WA. He remains active in medical education as an Affiliate Professor of Medicine at the University of Washington and as an Adjunct Professor of Medicine at the University of South Dakota.

Experience

1. Staff Physician

   Avera Health

   Jun 2021 — Present · Sioux Falls, SD, US

Education

• Goethe University Frankfurt

  Medicine

• DKFZ German Cancer Research Center

  Molecular Virology

  1990 — 1992

• Duke University

  Gastroenterology Fellowship Program

• Heidelberg University

  Doctor of Medicine - MD, Medicine

• Duke University

  Internal Medicine Residency Program

Skills

• Emr
• Healthcare
• Healthcare Consulting
• Icu
• Healthcare Management
• Gastroenterology
• Clinical Research
• Physicians
• Medical Devices
• Hipaa
• Surgery
• Medicine
• Strategic Planning
• Ehr
• Public Health
• Hospitals
• Oncology
• Cancer
• Nonprofits
• Healthcare Information Technology
• Internal Medicine
• Board Certified
• Cardiology
• Medical Education
• Treatment
• Health Policy
• Pediatrics
• Patient Safety
• Revenue Cycle
• Managed Care
• Medicare
• Orthopedic
• Critical Care
• Public Speaking
• Family Medicine
• Radiology
• Physician Relations
• Emergency Medicine
• Informatics
• Medical Imaging