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ATLANTA—Implementing a blood management program across a health system optimizes blood utilization in cardiac surgery and saves blood acquisition costs, according to a poster presentation featured during the American College of Cardiology Administrators (ACCA) annual cardiovascular administrators leadership conference this week.
A telebriefing by American College of Cardiology officials emphasized several aspects of ACC.10, including thought-provoking keynote addresses, late-breaking clinical trials that could hold important significance and a potentially robust discussion of healthcare reform straight from Capitol Hill.
Monday, March 15, 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM
Another timely ACC Symposium especially as CMS and Congress scrutinize the ever-increasing use of imaging. In this session, expect a representative from each major cardiology association to review the appropriateness criteria put forth from that association.
A joint science advisory statement issued by the American Heart Association (AHA) and the American College of Cardiology (ACC) warns about the use of thiazolidinediones (TZDs) as a treatment for diabetes after a report from the U.S. Senate Finance Committee outlined the drug's potential to cause adverse cardiac events.
The absence of coronary calcification does not exclude obstructive stenosis or the need for revascularizations in patients suspected to have coronary artery disease (CAD), based on results of a substudy of the CORE 64 registry data published in the Feb. 16 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
The American College of Cardiology (ACC) has appointed Henry A. Solomon, MD, to its executive team where he will serve as chief medical officer (CMO) of business development.
A $3.5 million, three-and-a-half-year study, will gather data from 3,500 patients with implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) to analyze the risks and benefits associated with ICDs in patients who are at risk of death from ventricular fibrillation.
A positive correlation between post-procedural myocardial injury and volume and fraction of low-attenuation plaque within target lesions measured by multidetector CT angiography after elective PCI was discovered by Tadayuki Uetani, MD, from the department of cardiology at Chubu Rosai Hospital in Nagoya, Japan, and colleagues.
The preliminary injunction and expedited discovery motions, related to the American College of Cardiology’s (ACC) recent suit against the Department of Health and Human Services over the Medicare 2010 Payment Rule, was dismissed from court Tuesday, according to a letter ACC CEO Jack Lewin, MD, sent to members.
Written by Kaitlyn Dmyterko
In previous research, investigators have found a direct correlation between hospital primary angioplasty volume and mortality rates in STEMI patients, resulting in a volume criteria for provider settings. However, Deepak L. Bhatt, MD, told Cardiovascular Business News that based on the findings of a recent JAMA study, the volume surrogate should be reconsidered as basis for hospital quality.
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As endovascular approaches evolve and technology brings more specialties into this arena, there will be increased cross-specialty competition. However, research presented at the American College of Cardiology Administrators (ACCA) conference this week in Atlanta suggested that finding a financial model that works to decrease the competition among physicians providing the same services while ensuring that the patient receives the optimal care could translate to many providers.
Written by Justine Cadet
Slightly more than one-third of patients without known disease, who underwent elective cardiac catheterization, had obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD) out of nearly 400,000 patients at 663 sites, based on study findings published March 11 in the New England Journal of Medicine. However, in an interview, Timothy D. Henry, MD, from Minneapolis Heart Institute, said that when reviewing the study’s data in its entirety, it appears that most practices are performing these procedures properly.
Much of a cardiologist's work centers around the findings of imaging studies. It is important, therefore, for them to understand the cutting-edge science and landmark trials that inform today’s practice, as well as tomorrow’s.
ACC.10, taking place next week at in Atlanta, will feature many sessions devoted to cardiovascular imaging. Cardiologists use various imaging modalities in their daily work and can find sessions that explore the complementary roles of echo, nuclear medicine, CT and MRI. As reimbursement for certain imaging procedures wax and wane, and as the supply of nuclear medicine isotopes remains precarious, cardiologists must stay up to date on how these complementary imaging techniques can be substituted in times of need, with no loss of diagnostic confidence.
In addition, cardiologists are well aware of the risks involved with certain imaging procedures. The ACC regularly issues evidence-based guidelines so cardiologists are armed with the safest and most current practices. Nevertheless, cardiovascular imaging has come under fire lately for a number of reasons including self-referral, inappropriate testing, excessive radiation exposure and scant evidence to support a technique’s widespread adoption. Cardiologists can expect to find the right practice management sessions at ACC.10 that will help them navigate the sometimes complex world of imaging medicolegal issues.
To get our daily news updates of education sessions from ACC.10 delivered to your inbox or mobile device, be sure you’re signed up for Cardiovascular Business News at CardiovascularBusiness.com.
Heart rhythm disturbances called Torsade de Pointes can produce serious complications for patients including sudden cardiac arrest. A scientific statement issued jointly by the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology said healthcare professionals should pay more careful attention to the risks associated with ECG monitoring and drug-induced long-QT syndrome administration.
Current data from nonrandomized studies suggest that thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) may reduce early death, paraplegia, renal insufficiency, transfusions, reoperation for bleeding, cardiac complications, pneumonia and length of stay compared with open surgery, according to a meta-analysis published online Feb. 3 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Yet, the authors noted that “sustained benefits on survival have not been proven.”
Legislation introduced by Rep. Charlie Gonzalez, D-Texas, to hold cardiology practice expense values at the 2009 rates, while allowing other specialty practices to operate at 2010 physician practice information survey values, has garnered 82 co-sponsors in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Written by By Jack Lewin, MD, FACC
The New Year provides an opportunity to turn a corner and not look back. At the American College of Cardiology (ACC), our initial focus is to apply all means necessary to mitigate the impacts of the 2010 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule rule, which resulted in drastic payment cuts for cardiology. The rule is bad policy. It will not only hurt access to care, particularly for disadvantaged populations, but will dramatically increase Medicare costs by shifting services to the hospital setting. The college is working all angles—regulatory, legislative and legal—to reverse the most egregious elements of the rule.
Patients determined to have a normal-appearing initial stress SPECT do not require additional rest imaging as they have a similar low mortality rate as those who undergo stress and rest imaging, according to new findings to be published in the Jan. 19 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
The American College of Cardiology (ACC) has filed a complaint against the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius in U.S. District Court, alleging that Sebelius, in her capacity as the HHS secretary, unlawfully adopted the payment rates for cardiology services in the 2010 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) by using an invalid Physician Practice Information Survey (PPIS) in a manner that “threatens access to care for patients and…increases medical care costs.”
Even though hospitals that perform a higher number of angioplasties are more likely to follow evidence-based guidelines and have shorter times to the angioplasty procedure, there appears to be no significant difference in outcomes such as length of hospital stay or risk of death, according to registry findings published in the Nov. 25 issue of Journal of the American Medical Association.
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Middle age introduces itself in many ways; one is atrial fibrillation (AF). My onset of AF seems to have coincided with a mountain bike accident in the woods of North Carolina that resulted in some cracked ribs.
The use of health IT to reduce rehospitalizations will be welcome but also disruptive, said Stephen Jencks, an independent consultant in healthcare safety during a Feb. 24 webinar on the potential use of health IT to mitigate rehospitalizations, sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).
A new hospital breaking ground usually isn’t breaking news. But the vision of patient care at one new facility, tentatively named Palomar Medical Center West (PMC West), is currently illegal under California state law.
There are cases presented to all physicians when we have to balance benefits of a particular treatment with concerns around safety for certain patients. In interventional cardiology, we see this dilemma with drug-eluting stents (DES). While this technology provides effective therapy for many patients with ischemia-inducing coronary lesions, there are certain patient groups that encounter problems for different reasons.
U.S. News & World Report and HealthGrades surveys that rank “Best Hospitals” according to their high-quality cardiovascular care do not create the most comprehensive list and may create confusion by excluding hospitals that provide the same quality of care, according to a study published in the January issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.