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-
During my last term in college, one of my business professors suggested subscribing to the Wall Street Journal as a way to be up to date on what is happening in the business world, as well as a way to continue my business education. His point was not so much that the WSJ had all of the answers...but that for personal success and professional fulfillment it was necessary to continue to read and learn. Needless to say I listened, and to this day I read the WSJ every morning. As I reviewed this newsletter today I realized that the voracious appetite for information my professor instilled in me is the reason we compile the articles that we think will be helpful for you to be successful in your area of work. Our goal is to have a once a month place that you can quickly catch up on clinical and business information that will help you be better informed and prepared for success. The newsletter has grown substantially over the years and we hope you find it helpful in continuing to learn and stay up to date.
We are sending this out the day before Thanksgiving. We truly have much to be thankful for and wish everyone a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving!
Best Regards,
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ACC/AATS/AHA/ASE/ASNC/HRS/SCAI/SCCT/SCMR/STS 2017
APPROPRIATE USE CRITERIA FOR MULTIMODALITY IMAGING
IN VALVULAR HEART DISEASE
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This document addresses the evaluation and use of multimodality imaging in the diagnosis and management of valvular heart disease, whereas the second, companion document addresses this topic with regard to structural heart disease.
Although there is clinical overlap, the documents addressing valvular and structural heart
disease are published separately, albeit with a common structure. The goal of the companion
AUC documents is to provide a comprehensive resource for multimodality imaging in the
context of valvular and structural heart disease, encompassing multiple imaging modalities.
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Outcomes for Atrial Fibrillation Similar with Dabigatran, Warfarin
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In clinical practice, patients starting dabigatran therapy do not have significantly different rates of ischemic stroke or extracranial hemorrhage than those starting warfarin therapy, though they have lower rates of intracranial bleeding, according to a study published online Nov. 13 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
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Blood Pressure of 130 is the New "High," According to First Update of Guidelines in 14 Years
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Leading heart health experts tightened the guidelines for high blood pressure Monday, a change that will sharply increase the number of U.S. adults considered hypertensive in the hope that they, and their doctors, will address the deadly condition sooner.
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Updated Guidelines Released for Ventricular Arrhythmias
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The American College of Cardiology, the American Heart Association, and the Heart Rhythm Society have released updated guidelines for the management of adults who have ventricular arrhythmias (VAs) or who are at risk for sudden cardiac death (SCD). The guidelines were published online Oct. 30 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
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Teen childbirth linked to increased cardiovascular risk decades later
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Teenage mothers could face significantly more cardiovascular risk later in life than women who become first-time mothers at older ages, according to new research in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
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Top heart hospitals zero in on continuum of care
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As part of the movement to value-based care, IBM Watson Health's top-rated hospitals for heart care are investing in strategies that aim to address every aspect of the care continuum.
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Invokana linked with improved kidney outcomes in type 2 diabetes
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Invokana (canagliflozin) improves kidney outcomes in people with type 2 diabetes who have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, research suggests.
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Despite government efforts, LDL cholesterol remains uncontrolled among uninsured Americans
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Despite increased healthcare outreach, an uptick in publicly and privately insured Americans and an effort to clear socioeconomic hurdles, U.S. rates of uncontrolled low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) aren’t improving in uninsured populations, according to recent research published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
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Urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio tied to major adverse outcomes in type 2 diabetes
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The risks for major macrovascular events, renal events and all-cause mortality are associated with increases in urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio in adults with type 2 diabetes, study data show.
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Mindfulness-based interventions reduce body weight in overweight, obesity
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Adults with overweight or obesity who participated in mindfulness-based intervention experienced at least 3% weight loss that persisted through follow-up, with a reduction in disordered eating behaviors, according to a recent meta-analysis.
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How Your Thyroid Could Be Working Against Your Heart
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The tiny thyroid gland could have a big impact on heart health, new research suggests.
Middle-aged and older adults with an elevated thyroid hormone may be at higher risk of heart disease and death, researchers found.
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SNMMI Publishes Appropriate Use Criteria for FDG PET/CT in Restaging and Treatment Response Assessment of Malignant Disease
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As cancer patients move through therapy, FDG PET/CT has proven an effective tool for assessing treatment response and updating the stage of malignancy. This AUC aims to improve utilization and guide providers across specialties in its use.
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Can Warfarin Protect Against Cancer?
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Anticoagulation with warfarin was associated with a lower overall cancer risk, as well as a lower risk for three of the most common cancers, according to a population-based study from Norway involving more than 1.25 million people over the age of 50.
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Zinc supplementation may lower diabetes progression risk
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Adults with prediabetes assigned to zinc supplementation are less likely to progress to type 2 diabetes compared with adults not assigned to supplementation, and supplementation may lead to reductions in fasting plasma glucose, 2-hour oral glucose tolerance test and insulin resistance, according to researchers in Sri Lanka.
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Advances in Sequencing Likely to Shift Paradigm in Cancer Drug Approvals, FDA Experts Say
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And in the concluding section of the article, the OCE experts note that FDA, which has typically approved companion diagnostics under a "one drug, one diagnostic" paradigm, is "likely to" shift to a "many drugs, a panel of diagnostic markers" paradigm because of advances in molecular sequencing.
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Cancer Doctors Cite Risks of Drinking Alcohol
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“The message is not, ‘Don’t drink.’ It’s, ‘If you want to reduce your cancer risk, drink less. And if you don’t drink, don’t start,’” said Dr. Noelle LoConte, an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the lead author of the ASCO statement. “It’s different than tobacco where we say, ‘Never smoke. Don’t start.’ This is a little more subtle.”
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AMA Calls for Regular Screening of Maternal Depression
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The country's leading physicians group is calling for more routine depression and anxiety screenings in new and expectant moms and for state and federal reviews of the causes of maternal death.
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We’re so unprepared for finding an Alzheimer’s treatment
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The U.S. health-care system is unprepared to cope with the Alzheimer’s crisis — even if there were a treatment in the near future, according to a new study.
If there were a treatment for Alzheimer’s in 2020, the study found that people would have to wait a year and a half for access because of a shortage of specialists and equipment to diagnose and treat the disease.
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Caring through the hurt: Experts tell how to cope when elderly parents' behavior worsens
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In some cases, the behavior was due to longtime mental health issues; in others, it was a result of Alzheimer's, dementia or other age-related ailments. In both situations, the adult children struggled to find a way to care for their parents while staying sane themselves.
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Drugstore pain pills as effective as opioids in ER patients
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Emergency rooms are where many patients are first introduced to powerful opioid painkillers, but what if doctors offered over-the-counter pills instead? A new study tested that approach on patients with broken bones and sprains and found pain relievers sold as Tylenol and Motrin worked as well as opioids at reducing severe pain.
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Breast Cancer Recurrences Steady After Therapy Cessation
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When adjuvant endocrine therapy for estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer is stopped after five years, recurrences occur at a steady rate into the future, according to a meta-analysis published online Nov. 8 in the New England Journal of Medicine.
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IUD May Reduce Cervical Cancer Risk By 30 Percent: Study
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Intrauterine devices (IUDs) can reduce women's risk of developing cervical cancer by about a third, possibly because they trigger an immune response that kills off human papillomavirus (HPV), the virus that causes the disease.
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Sleep Apnea in Elderly May Boost Risk of Alzheimer’s
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In the study, published in the American Thoracic Society’s American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, researchers report that biomarkers for amyloid beta, the plaque-building peptides associated with Alzheimer’s disease, increase over time in elderly adults with OSA in proportion to OSA severity.
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FDA OKs Heron's Cinvanti for chemo-induced nausea and vomiting
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The FDA approves Heron Therapeutics' (NASDAQ:HRTX) intravenously administered CINVANTI (aprepitant) injectable emulsion for the prevention of acute and delayed nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy in adult patients.
Aprepitant is substance P/neurokinin-1 (NK1) receptor antagonist.
Merck (NYSE:MRK) also markets aprepitant, branded as EMEND, in an oral suspension formulation. Its prodrug of aprepitant, fosaprepitant, was approved for IV use in adults in February 2016 under the same brand name.
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Genetic testing underused in colon cancer, especially young patients
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Genetic testing for mismatch repair deficiency in patients with colorectal cancer remains underused, especially in young adults, according to new research published in JAMA Oncology.
Considering growing support for universal mismatch repair (MMR) deficiency testing in CRC, and established guidelines recommending routine testing in patients younger than 50 years, these findings led investigators to call for interventions targeting groups at risk for guideline nonadherence.
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FDA Approves Adcetris for Rare Skin Cancers
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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Adcetris (brentuximab vedotin) to treat 2 rare skin cancer: primary cutaneous anaplastic large cell lymphoma (pcALCL) and CD30-expressing mycosis fungoides (MF), both of which are common subtypes of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL).
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Growth in Healthcare Prices Slows to Near-historic Low
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Healthcare prices rose just 1.1% year-over-year through September, representing the lowest price growth rate in roughly two years, according to a new report from Altarum. That growth rate was just slightly higher than the all-time low growth rate of 0.9% in December 2015. The figure has fluctuated between 1.2% and 2.3% over the past year.The small increase in healthcare prices was likely due in large part to a decline in prescription drug prices, according to the report.
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New Cardiovascular Center of Excellence Accreditation Reflects Gold Standard of Care
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Across the nation, hospitals have embraced standards of excellence driven by performance data registries and rigorous accreditation programs. Coveted accreditation for heart attacks, chest pain, heart failure, atrial fibrillation and cath labs not only help improve patient outcomes, they nurture healthy communities while improving hospital bottom lines.
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New Tool Could Let Patients Contribute to Doctors' notes
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Place article copy here. Be sure to make the articles short and concise as people tend not to read much more than a couple of paragraphs. Place article copy here.
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Researchers Question Previous Health Data Breach Study
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Claiming that larger healthcare facilities have a higher risk of experiencing a health data breach “neglects inherent biases in data collection and reporting practices,” according to a letter published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
Vanderbilt University researchers Daniel Fabbri, PhD, Mark E. Frisse, MD, and Bradley Malin, PhD, wrote a letter to the editor in response to a study published earlier in 2017. That previous study used reported breach data from HHS and claimed that having greater access to healthcare data (common in larger hospitals and teaching-focused facilities) could lead to greater breach risk.
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Politics that Affect Medicine
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Election Results Bolster Medicaid Expansion Hopes in Maine, Virginia, and other States
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Tuesday's elections in Maine and Virginia brought victories for supporters of expanding Medicaid to low-income adults, bolstering the hopes of expansion advocates across the country.Maine voters overwhelmingly approved a binding ballot initiative to expand Medicaid to adults with incomes up to 138% of the federal poverty level, as authorized by the Affordable Care Act.
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HealthCare.gov Numbers Outpaced 2016 During First Week of Open Enrollment
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The first week of Affordable Care Act open enrollment started off with a bang, despite fears that reduced outreach and slashed navigator funds would cripple sign-ups this year. A little more than 600,000 people chose health plans on the federal HealthCare.gov marketplace in the first four days of open enrollment, which started Nov. 1 and will run through Dec. 15, the CMS said Thursday. Approximately 1 million people signed up for coverage in the first two weeks of last year's open enrollment, putting this year's sign-ups ahead of those in 2016.
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Trump taps ex-pharma executive Azar as U.S. health secretary
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President Donald Trump on Monday said he is nominating former pharmaceutical executive and industry lobbyist Alex Azar to serve as U.S. Health and Human Services secretary, saying Azar would push to lower the price of medicines.
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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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