Rajesh N Keswani

Rajesh N. Keswani, MD, MS, is a gastroenterologist and nationally-recognized expert in interventional endoscopy who leads efforts to improve healthcare quality. He is the Medical Director of Quality for the Northwestern Medicine Digestive Health Center. Nationally, he informs clinical practice guidelines and endoscopy training standards by serving on committees of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, American Gastroenterological Association, and National Comprehensive Cancer Network. Dr. Keswani earned his undergraduate and medical degrees from Boston University, finished residency training in internal medicine at Stanford University, and completed a fellowship in gastroenterology and hepatology at University of Chicago. He then pursued advanced fellowship training in interventional endoscopy at Washington University St. Louis before joining the faculty of Northwestern University in 2008. Dr. Keswani earned a certificate from Northwestern's Academy for Quality and Safety Improvement (AQSI) in 2013 and went on to complete a master’s degree in healthcare quality and patient safety at Northwestern in 2016.

As an interventional (or therapeutic) endoscopist, Dr. Keswani performs minimally-invasive procedures to diagnose and treat complex medical disorders (including cancer) of the gastrointestinal tract, pancreas, and bile ducts. He is skilled in techniques of endoscopic ultrasound (EUS), endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR), complex colonoscopy, and small bowel endoscopy, including single balloon enteroscopy.

Dr. Keswani’s research focuses on healthcare quality with respect to interventional (EUS and ERCP) and general (colonoscopy and colon cancer screening) endoscopy procedures. His work, which is widely disseminated through publication in top gastroenterology journals and presentation at national conferences, reflects a broad, multi-dimensional interest in his profession. Dr. Keswani reports on clinical outcomes of new and established treatment methods in interventional endoscopy, studies endoscopy training requirements and competency standards, and considers sociological and psychological aspects of professional practice (e.g., stress and burnout among gastroenterologists). A dedicated educator, Dr. Keswani has won six teaching excellence awards for training residents and fellows at Northwestern. He develops future experts in his field by teaching in Northwestern’s advanced endoscopy fellowship program, and he engages trainees as collaborators and co-authors, mentoring them in research and quality improvement principles and methods. Additionally, Dr. Keswani teaches in continuing medical education (CME) programs to promote the ongoing professional development of practicing gastroenterologists. He is co-director of Northwestern’s annual Chicago Live endoscopy course, teaches procedural skills in national courses offered by the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, and accepts frequent invitations to speak in CME programs across the country.