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Healthcare Quick Links – July 2016

Healthcare is ever changing, so it’s important to stay up to date on advancements and issues that may impact the development, operation, maintenance, and growth of your services. Here are some important developments:

A Look Inside a Beating Heart Cell

You might expect that scientists already know everything there is to know about how a healthy heart beats. But researchers have only recently had the tools to observe some of the dynamic inner workings of heart cells as they beat. Now an NIH-funded team has captured video to show that a component of a heart muscle cell called microtubules—long thought to be very rigid—serve an unexpected role as molecular shock absorbers. Continue reading…

ImageGuide Registry Purpose

It is a clear imperative for the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology (ASNC) and its members to lead a strategy that will drive continuous improvement of nuclear cardiac imaging. The ASNC ImageGuide Registry for cardiovascular imaging data will provide the operational framework to support a community of practices committed to continuous patient-centered imaging, practice transformation, and innovation through ongoing data collection and quality improvement. The ImageGuide Registry will provide data related tools and resources, including the strategic development of educational, quality, and patient safety programs. Continue reading…

Group Practice Reporting Option

In accordance with section 1848(m)(3)(C) of the Social Security Act (the Act), the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) created a new group practice reporting option (GPRO) for the Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) in 2010. Group practices participating in PQRS GPRO that satisfactorily report data on PQRS measures for a particular reporting period may avoid a negative PQRS payment adjustment equal to a specified percentage of the group practice’s total estimated Medicare Part B Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) allowed charges for covered professional services furnished during the reporting period. Continue reading…

5 Practices That Can Help Health Systems Build Improved Relations With Doctors

Health system executives rank physician alignment as one of their top near-term priorities. As the market shifts toward financial incentives for quality, cost control and experience, closer collaboration between physicians and systems becomes a necessity. So it is not surprising that alignment is a top concern: Even organizations that are primarily focused on fee-for-service strategies are reconsidering physician alignment with an eye on the value-based future. Too many organizations, however, are approaching alignment with outdated strategies and miscalculated priorities. Continue reading…

AATS.16: Cardiothoracic Surgeons Will See a Major Caseload Increases

By 2035, cardiothoracic surgeons will be responsible for more than 850,000 patients, a 61 percent increased caseload overall and a 121 percent increase for each surgeon, according to a database analysis. Lead researcher Susan Moffat-Bruce, MD, PhD, of Ohio State University, presented the results at the American Association for Thoracic Surgery annual meeting in Baltimore. Continue reading…

FDA Approves Blue Earth PET Agent for Prostate Cancer

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new PET radiopharmaceutical from Blue Earth Diagnostics for detecting recurrent prostate cancer. Called Axumin, the agent is intended for PET imaging of men who are suspected of having recurrent prostate cancer, based on elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels that occur after primary treatment. Axumin contains a fluciclovine amino acid labeled with an F-18 radioisotope. Continue reading…

Storm Warning: Preparing for a Deluge of Cardiovascular Patients

Physicians and nurses, trained in a variety of cardiovascular specialties and serving different patient populations, worry that a tsunami of patients is not far away. Stroke Nurse Practitioner Amy Nieberlein, who is working on a transition-to-home initiative, worries not just about the “stroke tsunami” that will accompany aging baby boomers but also about “dangerous levels of stress and anxiety” their families and other caregivers will face. Continue reading…

Time to Get Ahead of the Curve: Clinical Decision Support Mandate Delayed, Not Dead

Clinical decision support (CDS) tools have the potential to curb inappropriate imaging, reduce healthcare costs and improve the quality of care, according to data from the small number of early adopters in the United States. These clinicians are a step or two ahead of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), which last fall delayed implementation of the provision in the Protecting Access to Medicare Act (PAMA) that requires physicians to use CDS tools, and document their use, whenever they order advanced imaging tests. Cardiovascular Business spoke with physicians who are ahead of the CDS curve and others who are getting ready for its arrival. Continue reading…

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