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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-
This summer I was given the book ‘Unaccountable – How Transparency Can Revolutionize Healthcare’ written by Marty Makary, MD. About the same time, late one night while watching an infomercial, I ordered a Tony Robins training series for my daughter who is about to enter her 3
rd year in college…which we both ended up listening to on road trips this summer. So, how do Dr. Markary and Tony Robins fit together? First, they are highly respected in their areas of expertise. Dr. Makary is a Johns Hopkins physician who has helped lead the World Health Organization develop ways of measuring health care quality. Tony Robins is known internationally for working with celebrities, politicians, athletes, and business people to help them achieve their highest potential. Second, they both have similar visions of how to affect positive change, whether it be in our healthcare system or personally. Their visions both stress focus and repetition as being necessary for any kind of success. Focus allows us to commit to an outcome and not get distracted by unnecessary or unimportant factors. Repetition (of doing something the right way) allows us to be more comfortable in a situation due to familiarity and gives us the ability to handle adversity that might come up from time to time. HCI has been providing imaging services for decades. Our experience and focus on quality imaging allows us to provide the highest quality imaging for our partner clients in a way that provides quality care for patients while helping the hospital’s bottom line. Finally, another suggestion both Makary and Robins push is to continue to ‘move and learn’. If you have some free time I’d suggest both as a way to get your motor running, as well as reading our monthly newsletter.
Best Regards,
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New Model Predicts Mortality in Stable Coronary Heart Disease
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A biomarker-based model provides a new tool for the prediction of cardiovascular (CV) death in patients with stable coronary heart disease (CHD), according to a study published in the August 15 issues of the
Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
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Good Blood Sugar Control Essential to Prevent Cardiovascular Disease in Type 1 Diabetes
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Maintaining good glucose control in type 1 diabetes is pivotal to lower the risks of cardiovascular disease and death, researchers say.
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Effects of Intensive Systolic Blood Pressure Treatment Similar in Prediabetes and Normoglycemia
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Intensive and standard systolic blood pressure treatments were comparable among adults with prediabetes and normoglycemia resulting in similar effects on cardiovascular outcomes and all-cause mortality, according to a study.
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Stopping Cholesterol-Lowering Drugs Could be Deadly
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Stopping a cholesterol-lowering drug because of a muscle ache or stomach pain can be dangerous in the long run, suggests a new study.
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As Your Weight Creeps Up, So Does Your Risk of Heart Failure
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"People who gain weight, even as little as 5 percent, are more likely to have thickening of the left side of their heart, which is a well-established indicator of heart failure," said lead researcher Dr. Ian Neeland.
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By Age 12, Poor May Show Signs of Heart Risks Ahead
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Children from poor families are more likely than their richer peers to show signs of narrowing in the neck arteries -- hinting they could face a heightened risk of heart disease as adults.
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Healthy Heart Score Performs 'Moderately well' estimating risk for early CVD events
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In mostly healthy younger adults, the Healthy Heart Score predicted premature atherosclerotic CVD events moderately well, making it a viable tool for risk assessment and counseling for primary prevention of the disease, according to findings published in
JAMA Internal Medicine.
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Inflammatory Bowel Disease Raises Risk of Acute Arterial Events
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Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are at increased risk of ischemic heart, cardiovascular and peripheral artery disease events, with the highest risk in those under age 55, researchers say.
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Exercise May Reduce Metabolic Syndrome Risk in Workers Who Sit All Day
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Regular exercise outside of work can reduce the risk of metabolic syndrome in people whose jobs have them sitting most of the time, according to a small study from Brazil.
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High-Normal Troponin Levels May Signal Risk for Fatal CVD
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Cardiac troponin levels that are high but still within the "normal" range appear to be a marker for increased cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, especially fatal CVD events, results of a systematic review and meta-analysis suggest
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Extra weight linked to extra risk, even if blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol all normal
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Heart's Backup Pacemaker Mechanisms Identified
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In humans, the heart’s sinoatrial node (SAN), acts as the body’s pacemaker. A new study, published Wednesday (July 26) in
Science Translational Medicine, reports two backup mechanisms that may prevent heart failure when the organ is faced with arrhythmia.
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6 Ways to Increase Your 'Good' Cholesterol Levels
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Cholesterol gets a bad rap. But the truth is, you need it to live, let alone lead a long, healthy life. Without this waxy, fat-like substance, you couldn’t make sex hormones such as estrogen and testosterone, adrenal hormones that help regulate blood pressure and metabolism, or essential nutrients such as vitamin D.
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More Young People Dying of Colorectal Cancer, and Researchers Don't Know Why
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In recent years, reports have consistently shown colorectal cancer rates have been rising in Americans under the age of 55. Now, a new study finds that not only are cases increasing, but deaths from colorectal cancer are also on the rise in this age group.
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Top 10 Most Expensive Chronic Diseases for Healthcare Payers
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Based on the latest data from the CDC and presented in descending order, here are the top 10 most expensive chronic diseases for healthcare payers to treat.
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New Imaging Tracer Allows Early Assessment of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Risk
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Researchers have developed a way in which medical imaging with SPECT/CT could potentially be used to assess a patient's rupture risk for abdominal aortic aneurysm. Delaying surgical treatment can be life-threatening, and this new type of imaging could allow physicians to diagnose disease and better plan its management
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Researchers Discover Mechanism to Develop New PET Radiotracers
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New PET radiotracers may soon be coming down the pike, thanks to a chemical mechanism discovered by scientists at Berkeley Lab and UC Berkley
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An Extra Dose of this Longevity Hormone Helped Make Mice Smarter
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Dubal is the author on a study released today in the journal
Cell Reports that looks at what happens to brain function when you inject klotho protein into mice.
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New Measure of Insulin Making Cells Could Gauge Diabetes Progression, Treatment
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In a study published in the August edition of the journal
Diabetes, Weibo Cai and colleagues used a PET scanner to detect minute levels of a radioactive chemical in the mouse pancreas. Cai, the senior author of the study and an associate professor of radiology, says that unlike previous methods for measuring the quantity of beta cells, the new test also measures how actively these cells are making insulin.
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Palonosetron Prevents Delayed Nausea and Vomiting After CHOP in Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
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Palonosetron effectively prevents and manages delayed chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) in patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), according to a study published in
Supportive Care in Cancer.
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The Cancer Genes Needed for Immunotherapy Response
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Using a large CRISPR-based screen, researchers find possible genetic culprits for patients not having success with immune checkpoint inhibitors.
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Midlife Behaviors May Affect Your Dementia Risk
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Middle-aged folks who smoke or have diabetes or high blood pressure are more likely to have dementia as they grow older, said lead researcher Dr. Rebecca Gottesman.
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PPI drugs ‘do not’ increase risk of Alzheimer’s disease
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According to the new study, proton pump inhibitor use was not associated with an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease – not even in long-term use exceeding three years.
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Arthritis Drug Ignites Hope for Affordable and Effective Cancer Treatment
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The researchers from the University of Sheffield in the UK discovered that methotrexate (MTX) -- a drug on the World Health Organization list of essential medicines -- works by directly inhibiting the molecular pathway responsible for causing the cancer.
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Internet-based EHRs gaining some customers but still a small segment
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Cloud-based EHR vendors say their solutions are cheaper upfront, faster to deploy, and safer than their counterparts that are hosted in-house. That's because of where the EHRs reside: in the cloud—which means on servers somewhere else, rather than on servers inside the hospital or doctor's office. In other words, cloud-based EHRs are web-based.
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Angioplasty Outcomes Almost Equal Among Hospitals
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Patients who have an artery-opening procedure called percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) have similar outcomes whether they're treated at so-called safety-net or non-safety-net hospitals, researchers say.
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Today's HR: Adding Technology to the Human Touch
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Improvements in business technologies are no less prevalent in the world of HR. The tasks that consume business owners/managers time--data entry, analysis and reporting-are easier to automate. Digital records are easier than old paper systems to track and maintain in central repositories accessible from anywhere. HR processes also have been streamlined, including payroll, benefits enrollment and paid-time-off (PTO) approvals. And that is just the tip of the iceberg.
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Politics that Affect Medicine
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Bipartisan Health Policy Coalition Urges Congress to Strengthen the ACA
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An unlikely coalition of liberal and conservative health-policy leaders is calling on Congress to strengthen the existing health-care law in a variety of ways to help Americans get and keep insurance. In particular, the group is urging the government
to continue paying all the federal subsidies provided under the Affordable Care Act and to help Americans enroll in coverage.
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New Senate Bill Seeks to Reduce Restrictions on Telemedicine Use
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While the Senate’s efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act imploded last week, that hasn’t stopped lawmakers from introducing bills that would make tweaks to the healthcare system in smaller ways. One such bill, sponsored by Reps. Doris Matsui, (D-California), and Bill Johnson, (R-Ohio), would expand the use of telemedicine to reduce costs.
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Medicare savings program fails to improve medication use, adherence
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Exposure to the Medicare Shared Savings Program was not associated with increased medication use or adherence among patients with CVD and diabetes, according to recent findings.
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Study: Value-based programs may harm practices that 'disproportionately serve high-risk patients'
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A new JAMA report that reviewed the first year of the Medicare Physician Value-Based Payment Modifier (PVBM) Program found providers who served “more socially high-risk patients had lower quality and lower costs, and practices that served more medically high-risk patients had lower quality and higher costs.”
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Explore. Invent. Transform. The theme of RSNA 2017 invites attendees to investigate and advance radiology through innovation as a means of creating positive impact on patient care. It’s a strong message with big implications—and radiology’s most influential forum is the ideal place to share it.
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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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Join top practitioners and thinkers to share strategies and resources for accelerating the shift to a more integrated, high performing, and sustainable rural health care system. We hope you’ll join us in Phoenix.
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Annual Rural Health Conference
May 8-11, 2018 in New Orleans, La.
New Orleans Marriott Hotel
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HeartCare Imaging, Inc. | Phone: 561-746-6125 | Fax: 561-741-2036 | info@heartcareimaging.com
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