CMS has updated its drug spending dashboards with data for 2017, adding information for “thousands” more drugs included in Medicare Parts B and D and Medicaid to its publicly accessible database.

A three-month joint investigation by Kaiser Health News and Fortune magazine has painted a disturbing picture of the state of electronic health records across the United States. The reporters spoke with more than 100 sources and found EHRs not only falling far short of their announced aims but also, in some cases, doing considerable harm.

Radiology patients are confident artificial intelligence will improve healthcare workflow and efficiency, but they’re skeptical of the tech itself and remain unsure of how AI will factor into the patient experience, according to a study published online March 14 in the Journal of the American College of Radiology.

NEW ORLEANS — An antithrombotic regimen of apixaban plus a P2Y12 inhibitor such as clopidogrel lowered bleeding events and hospitalizations compared to warfarin plus clopidogrel in a cohort of patients with atrial fibrillation (AFib) and a recent acute coronary syndrome (ACS), according to results of the AUGUSTUS trial.

A multitude of recent studies and success stories suggest artificial intelligence is on its way to topping doctors in accurately diagnosing diseases from asthma to breast cancer—seemingly a step in the right direction. But does the hype surrounding AI’s victories eclipse its shortcomings?

On scans from several different MRI techniques, regular alcohol consumption correlates with regional changes in the brain as well as with various cognitive abilities. And those most sensitive to alcohol’s viewable and observable effects are men and individuals whose faces blush upon intake.

NEW ORLEANS — Patients who received the MitraClip device to treat heart failure with secondary mitral regurgitation showed significant and lasting improvements on a quality-of-life assessment compared to people treated with optimal medical therapy alone, according to a substudy of the COAPT trial presented at the American College of Cardiology’s scientific sessions.

NEW ORLEANS — Described by its authors as “a one-stop shop” for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease, a new guideline released March 17 by the American Heart Association (AHA) and the American College of Cardiology (ACC) runs the gamut from smoking cessation strategies to specific recommendations for treating cholesterol based on a patient’s 10-year risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.

NEW ORLEANS — Two trials evaluating transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) in low-risk patients haven’t just shifted the TAVR versus surgical AVR discussion. They’ve completely flipped it, said experts here at the American College of Cardiology’s scientific sessions.

The FDA’s preliminary investigation into the long-term safety of paclitaxel-coated balloons and stents revealed those devices are associated with a 50 percent higher risk of death than control devices used to treat femoropopliteal artery disease.