Cardiologists Top E-Prescribers
Cardiologists appear to be adopting electronic prescribing more readily than colleagues in other specialties, according to a report by the Surescripts e-prescribing network. The 49% of cardiologists using e-prescribing is ahead of family practitioners (47%) and internists (45%). Behind them, 38% of gastroenterologists and 36% of pediatricians are e-prescribing. About 36% of all office-based physicians were e-prescribing in 2010, and 1 in 10 prescriptions was delivered electronically in 2010, up from 1 in 18 in 2008. E-prescribing is being driven primarily by federal legislation, including health care reform, according to Surescripts.
Bill Would Protect Device Makers
A tort-reform bill that was passed by the House Energy and Commerce Committee in mid-May would exempt medical device makers from paying punitive damages in product liability suits, according to the Gray Sheet, which reports on the medical-device industry. The committee passed the Help Efficient, Accessible, Low-Cost, Timely Healthcare (HEALTH) Act of 2011 (H.R. 5) by a vote of 30-20, largely along party lines. The bill was introduced in January by Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.), who is a physician. Although Republicans and physicians' organizations have generally favored the bill, Democrats have objected to the exemptions for medical device and pharmaceutical manufacturers. The bill would place a $250,000 cap on noneconomic damages in malpractice cases and would require that most medical liability suits be filed within 3 years of an injury.
Heart Admissions Declined
Hospital admissions for top cardiovascular conditions declined among Medicare beneficiaries from 1998 to 2008, researchers at New York University and Yale University found. While overall Medicare admissions climbed from 11 million to 13 million during the decade, hospitalizations for heart failure, ischemic heart disease, and acute myocardial infarction went down 7%, 24%, and 13%, respectively. In contrast, admissions for cardiac arrhythmia increased 28%. The study was presented as a poster at an American Heart Association meeting in Washington.
Some Pacemakers Okay With MRI
Medicare has proposed ending its blanket ban on MRI in patients with implantable pacemakers. Device maker Medtronic had asked the agency to alter the policy after the company in February won Food and Drug Administration approval of a pacemaker that was designed for use with MRI. In a “Proposed Decision Memo,” the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services said that “the evidence is adequate to conclude that magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) improves health outcomes for Medicare beneficiaries with implanted permanent pacemakers (PMs) when the PMs are used according to the FDA-approved labeling for use in an MRI environment.”
Heart Failure Certification Begins
The Joint Commission and the American Heart Association announced that their advanced certification program in heart failure will start next month. The program will focus on “safe, successful transitions of care” from inpatient to outpatient settings, according to an AHA statement. Programs seeking certification must have a hospital-based or outpatient heart failure clinic, a collaborative relationship with a cardiology practice, and proof of adherence to the AHA–American College of Cardiology guidelines on diagnosis and management of heart failure. “By achieving advanced certification in heart failure, programs will have demonstrated their commitment to consistently delivering reliable, effective and high quality care to their heart failure patients,” said Dr. Gregg C. Fonarow, who led the AHA's guidelines committee.
CME-Funding Dilemma Persists
Although physicians and other medical professionals say they're concerned that commercial funding of continuing medical education may bias the information provided, most are not willing to pay more to offset or eliminate such funding, a study in Archives of Internal Medicine shows. Researchers surveyed 770 physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants at CME sessions and found that the vast majority (88%) said that commercial support of CME introduces bias. They also said that the greater the financial support, the greater the bias. However, only 15% would eliminate commercial support from CME activities and only 42% said they were willing to pay more in an effort to cut industry financial involvement. Most CME participants also significantly underestimated the amount of commercial funding for their courses, the authors wrote, adding that “the dilemma remains of how to provide quality CME either with [alternative funding] or at reduced cost.”
Uninsured Can't Afford Hospitals
Few families that lack health insurance hold the financial assets that would be necessary to pay potential hospital bills, according to a report from the DHHS. Each year, nearly 2 million uninsured Americans are hospitalized, and 58% of the resulting bills total more than $10,000 each. On average, uninsured families can afford to pay only about 12% of potential hospital stays in full, and even families of four making up to $89,400 per year – four times the federal poverty level – would be unable to pay for most hospitalizations, HHS found. About 50 million Americans are uninsured, and their median family financial assets are about $20, the report said.