Risk adjustment models for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) used by CMS suggest a diagnosis of atherosclerosis is associated with about a 40 percent reduction in 30-day mortality for Medicare beneficiaries. Researchers found hospitals that provide more extensive cardiac care are more likely to report the condition, thereby skewing the risk models.

Physicians working in states that imposed damage caps for malpractice claims were less likely to perform invasive coronary angiography and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) than colleagues in no-cap states, according to a new study in JAMA Cardiology.