HCI's Monthly Review of the Healthcare Industry
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Robert J. Stilley
President, CEO
HeartCare Imaging, Inc.
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Dear Colleague -
Is repetition boring? One might initially think of the factory worker who puts the same part on a car hour after hour and day after day. But, industry has learned that moving workers from job to job in a factory can keep workers engaged and eliminate injuries resulting from repetitive movements. This results in a more efficient factory and less work missed due to injury. However, in healthcare repetition can be a good thing. Hospitals and physicians that have a high volume of a certain procedure typically have better outcomes for that procedure. Of course, these procedures are much more complex than what you might find in a manufacturing plant that has automated systems. A surgery, for example, done by a physician and the accompanying staff is different for each patient and that experience in surgery is invaluable. Experience allows the participants to anticipate potential issues and address them successfully. Of course, the requisite expertise needs to be there or all the experience in the world won’t help, but that expertise combined with experience provides the best outcomes. HeartCare has focused on bringing our experience and knowledge to diagnostic imaging for over 20 years. Our clinical and business experience allow us to provide an unparalleled experience for the patients, physicians, and hospitals we serve. Our involvement ensures the utmost quality in imaging, an efficient lab, and increased appropriate volume. We look forward to continuing to learn and sharing that knowledge and experience.
Best Regards,
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What Foods Are Really Best for Your Heart?
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For heart benefits, a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, beans and grains remains the way to go, according to a new research review.
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Calculator can predict heart age, risk for heart disease
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Researchers developed and validated the Cardiovascular Disease Population Risk Tool, or CVDPoRT, based on data from the Canadian Community Health Surveys of 104,219 Ontario residents, who were between age 20 and 105. The surveys also included data from 2001 to 2007 of hospitalizations and deaths.
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Smoking increases risk for AF
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Patients who smoked had an increased risk for atrial fibrillation, although the dose-dependent association was weakened in those who were former smokers, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.
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Risk for MI during pregnancy increased in US women
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n a new study that looked at outcomes of acute MI complicating pregnancy and the puerperium, acute MI occurred in about eight cases per 100,000 hospitalizations in pregnant women and in those up to 6 weeks after childbirth.
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Consumer technology poised to improve diabetes, CVD management
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As cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death among all adults with diabetes, devices currently available to monitor glucose level, vital signs, arrhythmias, ejection fraction, oxygen saturation, cardiac events and even potassium levels, as well as deliver insulin, may contribute to better disease management, according to George Grunberger, MD, FACP, FACE, chairman of the Grunberger Diabetes Institute, clinical professor of internal medicine and molecular medicine and genetics at Wayne State University School of Medicine, professor of internal medicine at Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine, and professor in the first faculty of medicine at Charles University in Prague.
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Anxiety, depression can increase risk of heart failure: Study
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According to the latest study by Harvard Review of Psychiatry, about one-third of people who have fallen into depression and anxiety are at higher risk of progressive heart diseases. Christopher Celano, MD, of Massachusetts General Hospital and colleagues were of the view that both anxiety and depression remain under-recognized and untreated in patients suffering from heart failure or cardiac attack.
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'Normal-weight obesity' linked to cardiometabolic risk in Chinese adults
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Normal-weight obesity — defined as a high body fat percentage in the setting of normal BMI — is relatively common in China, and the condition increases the risk for several cardiometabolic conditions, including diabetes and hypertension, according to findings published in Nutrition, Metabolism & Cardiovascular Diseases.
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USPSTF: Evidence Lacking for Nontraditional CVD Risk Factors
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The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force concludes that there is currently insufficient evidence to assess the benefits and harms of adding nontraditional risk factors to traditional cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk assessment in asymptomatic adults. These findings form the basis for a final recommendation statement published online July 10 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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FDA plans to ease OTC approvals for some prescription drugs
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U.S. regulators proposed new guidelines Tuesday to make it easier for some common medicines to be sold without a prescription — and more convenient for consumers to get them.The Food and Drug Administration is evaluating ways to make sure patients don't take an inappropriate over-the-counter drug, Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said in a statement. That could include adding information to the packaging label and offering online questionnaires to help people decide if a drug is right for them.Drugmakers would have to do studies showing those strategies allow consumers to safely pick a drug and use it without medical supervision.
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Electronic consults help health systems boost efficiency
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Many patients at North County Health Services have to travel a long way for specialist care. That's when they can get in to see a specialist at all. So about two years ago, leaders at North County, which operates 13 health centers in northern San Diego County in California, decided to experiment with electronic consults. The technology quickly spread and is now available to all North County providers.The goal is to give patients more efficient access to specialty care and also more appropriate access. The patients themselves aren't the ones communicating with specialists—their primary-care physicians are.
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PET/CT May Improve Imaging of Recurrent Prostate Cancer
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Positron emission tomography (PET)-based imaging may offer a promising alternative to conventional imaging for characterizing the true extent of disease in men who experience early biochemical recurrence following primary treatment for prostate cancer (PCa), according to a new systematic review and meta-analysis published in the World Journal of Urology.
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Study: 'Good cholesterol' may not be good in older women
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"Good cholesterol" may not be a good indicator an older woman has a lower risk of developing cardiovascular disease, according to a study.
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Optician's eye test 'could spot early dementia signs'
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A simple eye test carried out by opticians could help predict who is at risk of developing dementia, a study suggests.The test is usually done to spot early signs of eye disease, by looking at tissue at the back of the eye - the retina.Now scientists have found people with thinner retinas are more likely to have problems with memory and reasoning.
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Synthetic marijuana and brighter lights could improve the lives of people with dementia, new research shows
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A synthetic form of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active chemical in marijuana, was found to be safe and effective in treating agitation, lack of appetite and other behavioral symptoms in dementia patients, according to a new study out of the University of Toronto. Also Tuesday, scientists from the Lighting Research Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute presented findings on a lighting system tailored to improve sleep, mood and behavior for nursing-home residents with Alzheimer’s and related dementias.
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Women bear Alzheimer's burden; researchers are trying to discover why
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A study to be presented at the conference found a link between a lower risk for dementia and the number of births a woman has. Women with three or more children had a 12% lower risk of developing cognitive issues than a woman with only one child, according to initial results of the study of nearly 15,000 women. Pregnancy failures, however, increased a woman's risk, according to the Kaiser Permanente study. Compared with women who never lost a pregnancy, women with three or more miscarriages had a 47% higher risk for dementia.
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Aducanumab Beneficial in Cognitive, Functional Scores for Alzheimer Disease
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Data from a post-hoc analysis of the PRIME study demonstrated a beneficial effect of aducanumab on cognitive and functional scales in patients who continued to receive treatment for over 2 years.
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Advanced practice and nurse practitioners bring more profit, productivity to medical practices
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Medical practices with more advanced practice practitioners, nurse practitioners and other non-physician providers are more profitable and productive, according to a new report.While primary-care practices with a higher non-physician provider-to-physician ratio—at least 0.41 non-physician providers per physician—have higher expenses, they also earn more in net income than practices with fewer non-physician providers (0.20 or fewer per physician), according to the Medical Group Management Association's analysis of more than 3,000 providers.
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Even minor distress puts you at risk of chronic disease
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Dealing with anxiety, depression, and stress at intense levels for a long time can impact our long-term physical health. But what if we are exposed to low levels of psychological distress? Does it still jeopardize our well-being? According to a new study, the answer is "yes."
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Pain, sleeplessness often precede MS diagnosis
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Pain, sleep problems and mental health disorders are common in the five years before someone is diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, a new study reveals.
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CMS hears fears about billing codes proposal
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CMS officials on Wednesday assured clinicians that the agency's proposed changes to Medicare billing codes shouldn't significantly lower physician pay.
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FDA Approves NorthStar Medical to Make Isotope Generator at WI Plant
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NorthStar Medical Radioisotopes said the agency approved a still-to-be-built facility at the company’s Beloit, WI, headquarters to manufacture a device that could be key to supplying a radioisotope, the scarcity of which has sparked concern because it is so widely used in medical imaging.
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Cerner's investment in Lumeris signals growing role of tech vendors in population health
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With a $266 million investment in Lumeris' parent company, Cerner Corp. is just one of many electronic health record vendors making inroads into population health and preparing for the move to value-based care,
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CHS to sell two Arkansas hospitals to Little Rock's Baptist Health
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Community Health Systems announced Wednesday it plans to sell two of its Arkansas hospitals and their associated operations to not-for-profit Baptist Health in Little Rock. The Franklin, Tenn.-based for-profit hospital chain has signed a definitive agreement to sell 492-bed Sparks Regional Medical Center in Fort Smith and 103-bed Sparks Medical Center in Van Buren, which together with their physician clinics and outpatient services comprise Sparks Health System.
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Politics that Affect Medicine
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CMS Proposes 2019 Payment Rule for Physicians
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On July 12, 2018, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued its CY 2019 proposed payment policies and payment rates for services furnished under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule. Payment rates and policies will be effective Jan. 1, 2019, once finalized.
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CMS proposes slashing clinic visit payments as part of site-neutral policy
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In a massive outpatient payment rule, the CMS on Wednesday proposed expanding its site neutral payment policy to clinic visits, a move that could save the agency hundreds of millions of dollars.Clinic visits, or checkups, are the most common service billed under the outpatient pay rule. The CMS often pays more for the same type of clinic visit in the hospital outpatient setting than in the physician office setting.
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CMS Administrator Seema Verma names new leadership team to lead value-based transformation
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The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced multiple high-level appointments and promotions that officials said will focus on value-based care and coverage initiatives, among other priorities.
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CMS restarts risk payments, will pay out $10 billion to insurers
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The CMS issued a final rule Tuesday to resume paying $10.4 billion dollars in risk-adjustment payments to insurance companies with plans on the individual market.
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Update the Stark law now, HHS and providers tell Congress
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HHS joined Advocate Aurora Health on Tuesday to urge Congress to tweak a long-time anti-kickback law they say is scaring providers from entering into value-based care models.The Stark law prohibits doctors from referring Medicare patients to hospitals, labs and colleagues with whom they have financial relationships unless they fall under certain exceptions. Physicians and hospitals can be found liable even if they didn't intend to violate the Stark law, and offenses can carry significant financial penalties.The law also prevents hospitals from paying providers more when they meet certain quality measures, such as reducing hospital-acquired infections, while paying less to those who miss the goals. Those are key tenets of value-based care.
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For over 25 years, HRSI has provided Authorized User (AU) classroom and laboratory training to physicians. HRSI's training is recognized by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and fulfills the didactic training required by law.
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Annual Scientific Session of the
American Society of Nuclear Cardiology
Bridging Quality Imaging and Patient Care
September 6-9, 2018 | San Francisco Marriott Marquis | Calif.
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Mark your calendar! The Radiological Society of North America’s 104
th
Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting is scheduled to take place November 25 to 30 at McCormick Place in Chicago. Every year, radiology’s best and brightest convene at the RSNA annual meeting to learn from the specialty’s top experts and get an exclusive look at the latest in medical imaging technology. RSNA 2017 brought breakthrough science in machine learning, artificial intelligence and 3D printing to the forefront, affirming the Society’s position as the leader promoting scientific innovation for better patient care. Save the date now to see tomorrow’s medical imaging discoveries today at RSNA 2018!
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HeartCare Imaging, Inc. | Phone: 561-746-6125 | Fax: 561-741-2036 | info@heartcareimaging.com
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