Volume XIV | Issue 9| December 2022 | |
HCI's Monthly Review of the Healthcare Industry | |
Robert J. Stilley
President, CEO
HeartCare Imaging, Inc.
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Dear Colleagues –
As a kid, I grew up a diehard Pittsburgh Steeler fan. I was able to watch a perennial losing team turn into what is arguably one of the best teams of all time. It started with great draft choices like ‘Mean Joe Green’, Jack Ham, and Terry Bradshaw, but the one piece that seemed to solidify the team was Franco Harris. His first year the team won the first Steeler’s playoff game in decades, and then proceeded to own the NFL for the next decade. So, when Franco suddenly passed away recently, I was filled with sadness, but also introspection. As I thought about those teams compared to today, it seems that teams then were more cohesive and, while players came and went, the core typically played together for a long time. The Steelers of that day had a bond that came together by having similar values, knowing each other’s strengths and weaknesses, and most of all, having trust in each other. In today's world players and team owners seem to have no allegiance to each other…we will have great teams but few dynasties at the pro level. With NIL and the transfer portal, I suspect we will see a similar trend in college athletics. I don’t think it’s much of a stretch to suggest that our society has also seen the ‘team’ culture shrink in importance in the business world. Companies don’t invest in their employees as they did in the past, employees are quick to change positions, and long-term customer/client relations are fewer and fewer. At HCI we do our best to stay at the front end of technology and systems. But we’ve kept some ‘old school’ practices too and because of that we are more of a team than most. We have incredible employees that we do our best to take care of, and they do an incredible job for HCI and our partner/clients. HCI has been blessed to work with many of our partners for decades. We expect these long-term relationships to continue as we expand with our new partners throughout the country. When we start a new affiliation, we both choose to work together…as a team. We know each other’s values, our strengths, our weaknesses, and over time, we develop a trust in each other that allows us to always do the right thing. This has led to patient care that is second to none and a business relationship that helps support small hospitals and large universities throughout the country. It might be old fashioned but I’m proud of how we do business, and it seems to be working well. Who knows, if we do this long enough, we’ll create a dynasty!
Best regards,
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3D printing technology could increase Mo-99 production
Researchers at the National Centre for Nuclear Research (NCBJ) in Swierk, Poland, have secured a patent for the use of 3D printing technology to increase production of molybdenum-99 (Mo-99) for medical imaging.
Read more Here
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Northstar Finishes NNSA-Backed Medical Radioisotope Plant Construction Project
Northstar Medical Radioisotopes has finished its project to build a molybdenum-99 factory in Beloit, Wisconsin, with the technical and financial backing of the National Nuclear Security Administration.
The facility is the world’s first plant that will produce the isotope using a new technology that does not need highly enriched uranium and is projected to increase the company’s production capacity by almost twofold, NNSA said Monday.
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Long-term salt preferences may influence CVD risk
Less use of added dietary salt is associated with lower risk for CVD, particularly HF and ischemic heart disease, whether or not individuals follow the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension diet, data from a prospective study show.
Read more Here
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PET Technology More Effective Than Angiogram at Determining Need for Coronary Stents, Bypass Surgery
A new method for determining whether patients with heart disease need coronary stents or bypass surgery is more effective than the angiogram, which is currently used, according to research from UTHealth Houston Heart & Vascular.
Read more Here
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Frailty Tied To The Progression Of Prediabetes To Diabetes And CVD, Mortality Risk: Study
A recent study published in Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice has linked frailty with the advancement of prediabetes to diabetes and increased risk of cardiovascular disease and death.
Read more Here
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New guideline can help PCPs manage aortic disease
An updated guideline from the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association on diagnosing and managing aortic disease emphasizes the importance of a multidisciplinary care team.
Read more Here
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CGM use lowers hospitalizations, may reduce mortality in type 1 and type 2 diabetes
Use of continuous glucose monitoring was associated with improved glycemic control and a lower risk for hospitalization in adults with type 1 and type 2 diabetes attending Veterans Affairs clinics in the U.S., according to a speaker.
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Whole Grain Foods: How You Can Easily Add Them to Your Diet
A new studyTrusted Source published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggests people in the United States are eating more whole grains than ever.
However, researchers say it’s still not enough to meet minimum daily requirements.
Read more Here
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Atlanta startup Nyra Medical raising $20M for device that repairs leaking heart valves
Traditionally, leaking heart valves are repaired with open-heart surgery. An Atlanta-based startup is looking to meet the clinical needs of patients who are too at-risk for that procedure.
Nyra Medical Inc., a medical device company spun out of Emory University, is developing technology that fixes leaking heart valves by placing an implant into the heart. It inserts image-guided catheters, or thin tubes, into the bloodstream through an incision in the body’s groin to repair the valves.
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Global increase in type 2 diabetes rates for adolescents, young adults in past 3 decades
Type 2 diabetes rates and associated number of years lost due to poor health, disability or early death increased substantially among adolescents and young adults from 1990 to 2019, particularly in low- and low-middle income countries.
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Fatty liver disease conditions ‘change the healthy heart to a failing heart’
CVD risk increases with the severity of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and both CV and liver events are “highly related” to the degree of hepatic fibrosis present, according to a speaker.
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Microvascular Complications OF Diabetes Linked To Pancreatic Cancer
According to a study published in the Journal of Endocrine Society, early-stage chronic kidney disease, a microvascular complication of Diabetes Mellitus Type 2, substantially predicted pancreatic cancer, but not he macrovascular complications.
Read more Here
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Exercising in the morning could reduce CVD risk
The timing of physical activity could affect the risk for CVD, according to study findings published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.
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Cardiometabolic benefits of micronutrient supplements vary
Specifically, supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids, folic acid and coenzyme Q10 conferred certain benefits, supplementation with vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin E and selenium had no effect on CVD risk and supplementation with beta-carotene was harmful, researchers wrote in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
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Healthier Diets Cut ASCVD Risk by 10 Percent in Eight Weeks
Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) and fruit and vegetable (F/V) diets reduce 10-year atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk scores by about 10 percent over eight weeks, according to a study published in the Jan. 15 issue of in the American Journal of Cardiology.
Read more Here
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Scientists link 1 in 100 heart disease deaths to weather extremes
Exposure to extremely hot or cold temperatures raises a heart disease patient’s risk of dying, according to a new study.
Combing through four decades worth of global data on heart disease patients, the authors found that such extremes were collectively responsible for about 11.3 additional cardiovascular deaths for every 1,000 such incidents.
Read more Here
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FDA clears AI-powered heart failure tool developed at Mayo Clinic
An artificial intelligence-powered solution for heart failure developed at Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic has received FDA clearance.
The EchoGo Heart Failure tool was created by Ultromics, a spinoff of the University of Oxford in the U.K. in collaboration with Mayo Clinic. It uses AI to detect heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, or HFpEF, from a single electrocardiogram image, aiming to expedite care.
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Predicting outcomes post coronary artery surgery: SPECT or angio?
SPECT myocardial perfusion imaging may be a better approach than coronary angiography for predicting survival of patients after coronary artery bypass, according to a study published November 9 in The Annals of Thoracic Surgery
Read more Here
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Scientists link 1 in 100 heart disease deaths to weather extremes
Exposure to extremely hot or cold temperatures raises a heart disease patient’s risk of dying, according to a new study.
Read more Here
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Growing contrast concerns accompany rising MRI volumes
More than half of surveyed radiologists worry about MRI contrast availability, yet almost all—99%—wish for contrast agents that would cut current gadolinium concentrations at least in half.
Read more Here
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Triplet therapy incorporating novel PSMA-TRT 225Ac-J591 shows efficacy in mCRPC
Triplet therapy incorporating an alpha prostate-specific membrane antigen-targeted radionuclide therapy (PSMA-TRT, 225Ac-J591), an androgen receptor (AR) signaling inhibitor, and pembrolizumab (Keytruda) showed early signs of efficacy in the treatment of chemo-naïve metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC), investigators reported.1
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AI increases PET/CT reporting efficiency in lymphoma staging
An artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted software tool can decrease PET/CT reporting time in lymphoma staging without adversely affecting report quality, according to research presented November 28 at RSNA 2022.
Read more Here
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Does Working Out Before Bed Ruin Your Sleep?
Between working your 9-to-5 gig, prepping and munching on three-plus meals, cleaning up your home, and caring for your kids (or fur babies), your daily schedule is probably pretty jam-packed. And that means the only time you have to squeeze in a treadmill run or strength-training workout may be right before climbing into bed.
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Relapsed/Refractory DLBCL Patients Treated with Loncastuximab Tesirine: Predicting Outcome by Metabolic Tumor Volume
For tailored therapy selection and result optimization in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), it was critical to identify novel predictive biomarkers. Although the usefulness of metabolic tumor volume (MTV) in DLBCL patients receiving loncastuximab tesirine had not been determined, it was a significant prognostic factor. For a study, researchers sought to determine how the use of quantitative PET/CT data affected the treatment response and survival of patients receiving this medication.
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FCH-PET shows value detecting tumors in primary hyperparathyroidism
An experimental PET imaging approach using a radiotracer called F-18 fluorocholine (FCH) appears effective in detecting tumors in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism, according to research presented November 29 at the RSNA annual meeting.
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Pylarify PET/MRI shows value in selecting patients for focal ablative therapy
F-18 DCFPyL (Pylarify) PET/MRI appears useful when determining whether men with low-risk prostate cancer are candidates for focal ablative therapy, according to research presented at RSNA 2022.
Read more Here
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PSMA-PET improves prostate cancer management in most patients
Gallium-68 (Ga-68) prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) imaging detected more lesions in prostate cancer patients than previous approaches and changed management decisions in a majority of patients, according to research presented at RSNA 2022.
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Molecular dye plays “tag” with chemotherapy drugs
A new hydrogel platform helps monitor chemotherapies in the body in real-time, allowing their side effects and potency to be better understood.
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'Data is key': Strategic partnership leverages AI for cancer clinical trial placement
Partnership between Massive Bio and Azra AI extends clinical care teams bandwidth to place cancer patients in trials while eliminating unconscious bias.
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Opinion: America has a maternal health crisis, and it’s getting worse
It’s an unacceptable fact that Black women are more than three times more likely to die of pregnancy-related causes in America than white women. That holds true regardless of education level, socioeconomic status, age, geography and type of healthcare coverage. Even healthy, high-profile athletes Serena Williams and Allyson Felix nearly died during pregnancy and childbirth.
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AI ‘Simulants’ Could Save Time and Money on New Medications
Artificial intelligence is poised to make clinical trials and drug development faster, cheaper, and more efficient. Part of this strategy is creating "synthetic control arms" that use data to create “simulants,” or computer-generated “patients” in a trial.
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HIV vaccine candidate induces immune response in early clinical trial: ‘An important step forward’
An experimental HIV vaccine has been found to induce broadly neutralizing antibody precursors among a small group of volunteers in a Phase 1 study. The findings suggest that a two-dose regimen of the vaccine, given eight weeks apart, can elicit immune responses against the human immunodeficiency virus.
Read more Here
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‘Good news for older Americans’: Dementia prevalence is declining
Dementia prevalence dropped 3.7 percentage points in the U.S. from 2000 to 2016, according to a RAND Corporation study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Read more Here
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Don't go too low on radiation dose for CT lung cancer screening
Can low-dose CT lung cancer screening go even lower? Perhaps not, according to research presented November 29 at the RSNA meeting in Chicago.
Read more Here
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PET/CT outperforms liver biopsy in NET patients
PET/CT imaging with the radiotracer gallium-68 (Ga-68) DOTATATE may reduce unnecessary biopsies in patients with neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) that have spread to the liver, according to research presented November 30 at RSNA 2022 in Chicago.
Read more Here
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Large Multinational Study Shows Link Between CT Radiation Exposure and Brain Cancer in Children and Young Adults
In a new study based on five- to six-year follow-up data from over 650,000 children and young adults who had at least one computed tomography (CT) exam prior to the age of 22, researchers found a “strong dose-response relationship” between increased CT radiation exposure and brain cancer.
Read more Here
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As health systems expand, communication is key for staff engagement
As health systems have grown through mergers and acquisitions, some have had to contend with how to set workplace policies from state to state. An expansive geographic footprint can mean facing a tangle of labor laws, including those concerning minimum wage, sick leave, discrimination prevention and workplace safety.
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Healthcare data breaches
Based on the data through October, 2022 is on track to set a new record for the number of healthcare data breaches.
Read more Here
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In The Wild West Of Healthcare Data, Leaders Struggle To Know If Their Insights Are Pure Gold
Organizations are starting to look beyond volume of data to quality. It’s no secret that approximately one-third of data produced each day is healthcare related. In fact, the healthcare industry has debated how to harness this overwhelming amount of information for years. Organizations are finally embracing data for decision-making, with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services requiring the use of data and analytics as part of its value-based care programs. Life sciences companies are harnessing real-world data for research and commercial decisions and both are wondering if they are using the “right” data.
Read more Here
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Top reason for delaying care is now cost, not COVID-19, patients say
After two years of forgoing healthcare due to pandemic-related concerns, inflation is at an all-time high. Rising cost is the top reason Americans are deferring care, especially for mental health, nutrition and preventative care, according to Boissy.
Read more Here
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Analysis of Doctors' EHR Email Finds Infrequent but Notable Hostility
In a new study published online today in JAMA Network Open, researchers used artificial intelligence to analyze more than 1.4 million electronic health record (HER) emails to physicians — and the results aren't pretty.
Read more Here
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Health systems bet on hospital-at-home
Health systems are increasingly investing in acute hospital-at-home technology to ease overburdened hospitals, reduce costs and improve outcomes. By equipping patients’ homes with biometric devices, along with tablets and other ways to communicate with clinicians, organizations aim to provide inpatient-level services to those who don’t need intensive care.
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30% of providers unsatisfied with patient payment platforms
Most healthcare providers have implemented a new patient payment platform in the past five years, but only 58 percent said they were highly satisfied with their current system, according to a survey from Bank of America. In addition, 30 percent said their patient payment platform integration was unsuccessful.
Read more Here
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For many patients, medical jargon relative to imaging relays opposite message of what is intended
Patients’ understanding of their imaging is an important part of their general health management, but new data indicates that the medical jargon clinicians use to describe radiologic findings leaves many patients confused.
Read more Here
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White House launches data dashboard for non-fatal opioid overdoses
The White House launched a new national dashboard on Thursday to track non-fatal opioid overdoses in the U.S. to aid in combating the ongoing epidemic.
The Nonfatal Opioid Overdose Dashboard tracks rates across states and territories using information from the National EMS Information System.
Read more Here
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How Health Insurance Coverage Varies Across, Within Families
In two-adult families with and without children, the majority of members had the same type of health insurance coverage, whether they had group plans, non-group plans, or Medicaid.
Read more Here
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CDC awards over $3 bln to strengthen U.S. public health infrastructure
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Tuesday it is awarding more than $3 billion to help strengthen public health workforce and infrastructure across the United States after the COVID-19 pandemic put severe stress on them.
Read more Here
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New bill aims to reform CMS' drug coverage authority after controversial Aduhelm decision
The Access to Innovative Treatments Act, introduced Tuesday, would require the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to evaluate new drugs for coverage individually as opposed to an entire class amid other reforms. The bill comes after promising findings in recent months for a new Alzheimer’s drug.
Read more Here
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HHS: Pixel trackers installed on hospital websites may violate HIPAA
HHS's Office for Civil Rights warned healthcare entities that using pixel tracking technology in patient portals may violate HIPAA.
The department issued a bulletin Dec. 1 that says entities covered by HIPAA can't use pixel trackers if they transmit protected health information without patient consent or if they don't have a signed business associate agreement with the technology tracking vendors.
Read more Here
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CMS proposes streamlining, automating prior authorizations
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services aims to overhaul health insurance prior authorizations under a propose rule published Tuesday.
The regulation would require Medicare Advantage, Medicaid and health insurance exchange carriers to ease their prior authorization processes and respond to “urgent” requests within 72 hours and standard requests within seven days. This would halve the amount of time Medicare Advantage plans currently have to respond to clinicians’ prior authorization requests, according to CMS.
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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. | | |
Capsid Consulting's mission is to enhance the Infection Prevention (IP) and Antibiotic Stewardship Program (ASP) in long term care facilities around the United States via teleconsulting. Through our sister company, PraxisID, we support rural hospitals and clinics by providing full-time Infectious Disease staff to participate in patient care via telehealth as well as any other critical Infectious Disease needs. | | |
Free CME
Title: Why Does My Patient Have Angina?
To view this FREE CME activity, please register.
You must achieve a score of 75% or above to receive credit.
You may take the test up to 3 times. Thank you for your participation.
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Free CME
Title: We've Measured Flow. Now What Does IT Mean?
To view this FREE CME activity, please register.
You must achieve a score of 75% or above to receive credit.
You may take the test up to 3 times. Thank you for your participation.
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
This lecture will detail the scientific literature describing myocardial perfusion dating back to the first measurements in 1949. The goal is to synthesize the entire spectrum of myocardial perfusion in order to understand objective limits for distinguishing normal from abnormal. We first discuss myocardial perfusion in normal people (not patients!) aged less than 40 with no risk factors. From this cohort we can understand truly normal perfusion, not accessible or measured invasively due to unethical risk of invasive catheterization for people. At the other end of the spectrum, transmural or nontransmural infarcts as verified by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging permit a boundary of low resting flows identifies nonviable myocardium. Frank ischemia (angina, ST-segment depression, and a relative perfusion defect) and its associated myocardial perfusion can be imaged to understand how stress flows must fall in order to reach this low level. A wide continuum falls between normal flows and ischemia and relates to risk factor burden, anatomic atherosclerosis, clinical heart disease, and previous revascularization procedures.
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Free CME
To view this FREE CME activity, please register.
You must achieve a score of 75% or above to receive credit.
You may take the test up to 3 times. Thank you for your participation.
EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES:
At the conclusion of this activity, participants should be able to:
- Identify reasons for diagnostic challenges in chronic abdominal pain
- Define conditions that require objective testing
- Explain relevant radio-pharmaceuticals & physiology
- Explain consensus recommendations for CCK-CS
- Explain standardized reporting of CCK-CS
- Identify essential CCK-CS findings and relevant diagnoses
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Free CME
To view this FREE CME activity, please register.
You must achieve a score of 75% or above to receive credit.
You may take the test up to 3 times. Thank you for your participation.
EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES:
At the conclusion of this activity, participants should be able to:
- Identify reasons for diagnostic challenges in chronic abdominal pain
- Define conditions that require objective testing
- Explain relevant radio-pharmaceuticals & physiology
- Explain consensus recommendations for CCK-CS
- Explain standardized reporting of CCK-CS
- Identify essential CCK-CS findings and relevant diagnoses
| | |
Free CME
To view this FREE CME activity, please register.
You must achieve a score of 75% or above to receive credit.
You may take the test up to 3 times. Thank you for your participation.
EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES:
At the conclusion of this activity, participants should be able to:
- Use a systematic interpretational approach for CCK-CS
- Use a structured reporting checklist for CCK-CS
- Identify rare but essential gallbladder findings and responses to stimulation on CCK-CS
- Identify causes for unexpected gallbladder contraction
- Identify rare but essential findings in the bowel on CCK-CS that could contribute to patient management
- Optimize CCK-CS imaging time to capture critical information by omitting unessential imaging
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Free CME
To view this FREE CME activity, please register.
You must achieve a score of 75% or above to receive credit.
You may take the test up to 3 times. Thank you for your participation.
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
Clinicians who treat patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) are faced with the challenge of making a therapeutic decision to recommend revascularization or medical treatment. A conflict often exists between making that decision based on assessing myocardial ischemia through measurements of coronary flow and function versus visualizing anatomical stenosis through angiography. The purpose of this lecture is to provide insight into the measurement of myocardial blood flow (MBF) and it’s interpretation. The presentation will provide clarity concerning the tools to measure MBF and their interrelationship. The concept of coronary flow capacity (CFC) will be presented and its relevance and impact on clinical practice and patient care will be discussed. Clinicians who participate in this program will gain an appreciation for the use of positron emission tomography (PET) scanning with CFC to help identify patients who will benefit from revascularization.
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2023 SNMMI Mid-Winter & ACNM Annual Meeting
January 26-28, 2023 | San Francisco, California | Virtual Registration also Available.
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HeartCare Imaging, Inc. | Phone: 561-746-6125 | Fax: 561-741-2036 | info@heartcareimaging.com | | | | |
