Industry News | Thursday, September 02 2010
Healthcare organizations should disclose medical mistakes that affect multiple patients even if patients were not harmed by the event, according to an Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) funded research paper published in the Sept. 2 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Industry News | Thursday, September 02 2010
UnitedHealth Group will invest $10 million to help California’s critical access hospitals improve their health IT systems and adopt EHRs.
Clinical Studies | Thursday, September 02 2010
Patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) who are at high-risk for esophageal injury caused by radiofrequency (RF) ablation can be identified by anatomical features easily seen on pre-acquired CT images, according to a study published in this month's HeartRhythm Journal.
Industry News | Wednesday, September 01 2010
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has announced three sets of grants and cooperative agreements, totaling nearly $17 million for patient-centered outcomes research.
Clinical Studies | Wednesday, September 01 2010
African-Americans may have more of a risk of developing life-threatening thrombosis after receiving drug-eluting stents (DES); however, socioeconomic status was independent of stent thrombosis, according to the results of a study published in the Aug. 31 issue of Circulation.
Industry News | Wednesday, September 01 2010
The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) has launched Quality 101, an online resource for the basics and metrics of quality measurement and improvement.
Regulatory News | Wednesday, September 01 2010
The FDA has granted 510(k) clearance for the LipiScan near-infrared (NIR) and intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) coronary imaging system from InfraReDx.
Contracts & Installations | Wednesday, September 01 2010
Iasis Healthcare, which operates 16 healthcare facilities across six states, has selected QuadraMed's coding, compliance and reporting technologies to improve coding practices and transition to the ICD-10 code sets in 2013.
Conference News | Wednesday, September 01 2010
The use of a seven-day, double-dose of clopidogrel reduced cardiovascular events and stent thrombosis in patients with acute coronary syndromes undergoing PCI, but resulted in higher bleeding rates, according to a substudy of the CURRENT-OASIS 7 trial presented at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) congress in Stockholm and simultaneously published in the Lancet.
Partnerships & Alliances | Wednesday, September 01 2010
Raleigh Cardiology Associates (RCA) and WakeMed Health & Hospitals, based in Raleigh, N.C., have signed an agreement that brings in RCA as part of WakeMed’s hospital-based physician practice, known as WakeMed Faculty Physicians. This agreement, which becomes effective Oct. 1, aligns RCA more closely with WakeMed’s Heart & Vascular program.
New Products | Wednesday, September 01 2010
The FDA has cleared Haldor Advanced Technologies’ ORLocate, a radio-frequency identification (RFID) system that accounts for items used during surgery to reduce incidence of surgical items left inside patients.
| Wednesday, September 01 2010
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has approved new technology add-on payments of up to $53,000 for the SynCardia temporary Total Artificial Heart (TAH-t) through its 2011 Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System final rule. The decision is effective Oct. 1.
Top Stories | Tuesday, August 31 2010
High heart rate is a risk factor in heart failure (HF), and selective lowering of heart rates with ivabradine improves cardiovascular outcomes in HF, based on results from two arms of the SHIFT trial, presented at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) congress this week in Stockholm, and simultaneously published in the
Lancet. However, an accompanying editorial suggests that these findings do not yet warrant a paradigm shift.
Conference News | Tuesday, August 31 2010
A low-dose regimen of unfractionalted heparin compared with standard dose did not reduce the risk of major peri-PCI bleeding or vascular access site complications in patients receiving the anticoagulant fondaparinux, which had previously been found to cut bleeding by half, according to the results of the FUTURA/OASIS-8 trial presented at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) congress in Stockholm, and simultaneously published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Conference News | Tuesday, August 31 2010
Members of the AVERROES trial data monitoring committee ordered that the trial be halted after interim results found a 50 percent stroke reduction for apixaban (Bristol-Myers Squibb/Pfizer) compared to aspirin in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) who were not suitable for warfarin, according to a presentation during the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) congress Aug. 31 in Stockholm.
Financial News | Tuesday, August 31 2010
Aptus Endosystems has completed $15 million in Series AA financing, which will be used to advance the development of its Aptus EndoStapling system, part of the Aptus Endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair system, throughout Europe and the U.S.
Executive Announcements | Tuesday, August 31 2010
The IVD Industry Connectivity Consortium (IICC) has appointed Eric Olson, vice president of informatics and eBusiness for Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics, as its president.
Top Stories | Tuesday, August 31 2010
The number of patient visits accommodated by the radiographic fluoroscopy (RF) departments increased at a rate of 3.5 percent per year between 2004 to 2009, while the total RF installed base declined at a rate of 2 to 3 percent per year over the past decade, according to a report issued by market research firm IMV Medical Information Division.
Industry News | Tuesday, August 31 2010
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued a reminder to healthcare providers, health plans, clearinghouses and vendors about the approaching January 2011 compliance date for testing transaction standards.
Conference News | Monday, August 30 2010
Clinical descriptors can assist clinicians in identifying high-risk patients within the range of risk for outpatients with atherothrombosis, according to a substudy of the REACH trial, presented this week at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) conference in Stockholm, and simultaneously published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Top Stories | Monday, August 30 2010
Among patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) or atrial fibrillation (AF), the effect of clopidogrel as compared with placebo is consistent, irrespective of CYP2C19 loss-of-function carrier status, according to substudies of the CURE and the ACTIVE A trials presented this week at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) conference in Stockholm, and simultaneously published online Aug. 29 in the
New England Journal of Medicine.
New Products | Monday, August 30 2010
Medtronic has launched in Europe its Resolute Integrity drug-eluting stent (DES) system for the treatment of coronary artery disease, after receiving the CE mark.
New Products | Monday, August 30 2010
Royal Philips Electronics has released its upgraded cardiac ultrasound, the iE33 xMATRIX cardiac ultrasound system, which now offers a X5-1 transducer for adult echocardiograms, at the European Society of Cardiology Congress (ESC) this week in Stockholm.
Top Stories | Monday, August 30 2010
The Certification Commission for Health IT (CCHIT) has been recognized by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT as an Authorized Testing and Certification Body (ONC-ATCB) under the initial certification program created to certify that EHRs are capable of meeting the criteria to support meaningful use and qualify eligible providers and hospitals for funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Conference News | Monday, August 30 2010
Dabigatran (Pradaxa, Boehringer Ingelheim) was effective in preventing stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation, based on a post-hoc analysis of the randomized RE-LY trial. The analysis, presented at this week's European Society of Cardiology (ESC) congress in Stockholm, and simultaneously published in the Lancet, also showed that local standards of care affect the benefits of switching to new treatments.
Conference News | Monday, August 30 2010
Administering low-dose supplements of n-3 fatty acids—eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid or alpha-linolenic acid—did not significantly alter the rates of major cardiovascular (CV) events among MI patients, according to the results of the Alpha Omega trial presented this week at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) meeting in Stockholm, and simultaneously published online Aug. 29 in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Conference News | Monday, August 30 2010
Patients with acute coronary syndrome who underwent PCI and carry both the ABCB1 and CYPC2C19 genotypes are at an increased risk for cardiovascular death, MI and stroke. However, ABCB1 genotypes seem to be independent of clinical outcomes when patients are treated with prasugrel, but increased risk when patients are treated with clopidogrel, according to the results of a substudy of the TRITON-TIMI 38 trial presented this week at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) meeting in Stockholm, and simultaneously published in the Lancet.
Executive Announcements | Monday, August 30 2010
CAS Medical Systems has appointed Thomas M. Patton president, CEO and a member of its board of directors, effective Aug. 27.
Partnerships & Alliances | Monday, August 30 2010
Vision Facilities Management has started a new two-way communication interface with ECRI Institute to improve the ability of hospital staff to manage medical device safety alerts and recalls.
Top Stories | Monday, August 30 2010
Treating acute coronary syndrome patients with ticagrelor (Brilinta), rather than clopidogrel (Plavix) produces better results, irrespective of CYP2C19 and ABCB1 polymorphisms, and at the same time eradicates the need for genetic testing prior to dual-antiplatelet treatment, according to a substudy of the PLATO trial presented this week at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) congress in Stockholm, and simultaneously published in the
Lancet.
New Products | Monday, August 30 2010
Welch Allyn has lanched Connex Electronic Vitals Documentation System to capture and transmit patient data to EMRs to provide clinicians in non-critical settings with access to vital signs.
Industry News | Monday, August 30 2010
On average, hospital stays for patients with healthcare-acquired infections were 19.2 days longer and the cost was nearly $43,000 greater than stays without infections, according to a statistical brief released by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).
Regulatory News | Monday, August 30 2010
The FDA has approved Novartis’ blood pressure pill Tekamlo, a combination of aliskiren (Tekturna) and channel-blocker amlodipine, for use as a replacement therapy for patients who cannot control hypertension with either aliskiren or amlodipine alone or who need multiple drugs to achieve optimal blood pressure results.
New Products | Monday, August 30 2010
The St. Jude Medical EnSite Cardiac Mapping system, a system used to treat cardiac arrhythmias, is now available for use in Japan.
Industry News | Sunday, August 29 2010
A personal health record (PHR) embedded in mobile communication devices--or mPHR--is the “killer app” that may change the game for providers, consumers and payors, according to an issue brief from consulting firm Deloitte Center for Health Solutions, based in Washington, D.C.
Top Stories | Sunday, August 29 2010
The California State Assembly in a bipartisan vote of 70-4 has approved SB 1237, which seeks to establish protocols and safeguards to protect patients from excess radiation exposure during CT scans by requiring radiation dosage levels be recorded on the scanned image and in a patient’s health records and that radiation overdoses be reported to patients, their treating physicians and the California Department of Public Health.
Top Stories | Friday, August 27 2010
The repair of the High Flux Reactor (HFR) in Petten, the Netherlands, is proceeding well and the reactor is expected to achieve the first HFR Full Power Day (45 MW) on Sept. 9, according to the Nuclear Research and Consultancy Group of the Netherlands.
Regulatory News | Friday, August 27 2010
SonoSite has received FDA clearance for its tracking and guidance technology for peripherally inserted central catheter line procedures, the LumenVu Catheter Guidance System.
Partnerships & Alliances | Friday, August 27 2010
Medical imaging software provider TomTec has partnered with healthcare IT companies ScImage and Agfa Healthcare for the integration of its quantification tools into the companies’ PACS technology.
Clinical Studies | Friday, August 27 2010
The transition from a default transfemoral access approach for coronary angioplasty to a default transradial approach increased fluoroscopy time, according to a study published in the September edition of American Journal of Cardiology. The transradial approach increased dose-area product for diagnostic procedures, but not interventional procedures.
Current screening recommendations for abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) fail to target some people, including women and nonsmokers, in which a large number of ruptures and deaths occur, according to a study published in the September issue of the Journal of Vascular Surgery. Use of a new high-yield screening algorithm can expand the target population for screening and help to increase the detection of AAAs, senior study author Giampaolo Greco, PhD, told Cardiovascular Business News.
Medical imaging overutilization--a growing concern in the U.S.--exposes patients to unnecessary radiation, while also adding to rising healthcare costs, according to a study published online Aug. 24 in Radiology. In an interview, William R. Hendee, PhD, lead author, reviewed various methods by which medical imaging could be curtailed.
After 585 patients at the St. Joseph Medical Center (SJMC) in Towson, Md., received word that their cardiac stent procedures may have been unwarranted, Maryland attorneys filed a 19-page lawsuit against the facility alleging that Mark G. Midei, MD, director of the SJMC cath lab violated the Maryland Medical Practice Act. The court documents accuse Midei of performing “hundreds, if not thousands, of unnecessary cardiac stent procedures on patients.” Now, this case and others like it have left most wondering what this will mean for the industry.
As people age, their stem cells also age, diminishing their functionality. Many studies conducted to determine the efficacy of cardiac stem cell therapy have used donor cells from younger patients. These cells are healthy and readily adopt the cardiogenic phenotype researchers are interested in. The problem with that approach, however, is that in clinical trials, researchers want to use patients' stem cells, but they can't expect to have similar results as with younger donor cells. The answer is to find a way to manipulate autologous cells so they regain their "youthful" function.Author: Atta Behfar, MD
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) EHR incentive payments are not considered reimbursement for money expended on EHR technology, but are intended to offset the cost associated with adoption and ongoing meaningful use, according to CMS during an Aug. 12 webinar.
Funding incentives for EHR use is the main goal of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) meaningful use initiative, and there are incentive programs for both hospitals and eligible professionals, according to Elizabeth Holland, health insurance specialist at the Department of Health and Human Services, who spoke during a CMS-sponsored webinar Aug. 8.
