ProPublica and NPR teamed up in an analysis of Medicare data to investigate prescribing habits for nebivolol (Bystolic), a treatment for hypertension. They reported that 17 of the top prescribers in 2010 accepted $283,450 in fees for promotional talks and more than $20,000 for meals from the drugmaker, Forest Laboratories. Most of the same names appeared again in results for 2011, the most recent year that data were available.

Most people agree reimbursement that rewards volume has fueled overuse and high costs for U.S. healthcare. But few agree on the best replacement. François de Brantes, executive director of the Health Care Incentives Improvement Institute, made a case for pay-for-performance incentives recently in the Wall Street Journal. Steffie Woolhandler, MD, MPH, of the City University of New York School of Public Health, shared why she thinks it is a bad idea.

Today, members of the Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) are visiting 35 congressional offices on Capitol Hill to raise visibility and support for two proposals: the “Medicare Program Integrity Improvement and Education Act” and the “Teaching Children to Save Lives Act.” HRS is advocating for the support of these two bills because both intend to deliver outcomes aligned with the Society’s mission to improve the care of patients by advancing research, education and optimal health care policies and standards. 

Eugene Sherman, MD, chair of the American College of Cardiology’s Advocacy Steering Committee and Political Action Committee, shares his experience meeting with other cardiovascular societies to make a case to members of Congress to eliminate the Sustainable Growth Rate formula and boost healthcare quality in a blog post.

The first project to receive an investment from the American Heart Association’s Science & Technology Accelerator Program will be jointly developed by CytoVas, LLC and BD Biosciences, the firms announced.

POZEN Inc., a pharmaceutical company committed to transforming medicine that transforms lives, announced the results of a POZEN sponsored study at the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy’s 25th Annual Meeting and Expo on April 4, 2013. 

Atrial fibrillation (AF) places a heavy financial burden on the U.S. healthcare system, but cardiologists may help to chip away at these costs.