The American Heart Association (AHA) issued a statement March 29 applauding Congress for including funding increases for federal programs aimed at combating cardiovascular disease in its final omnibus spending bill.

Two radiology practices from Washington state—Spokane-based Inland Imaging and Tri-Cities-based Columbia Basin Imaging (CBI)—have announced that they are combining their groups, effective September 2018.

Patients overwhelmingly take non-clinical factors of care like compassion, comfort, personality and bedside manner into account when choosing a physician, according to a report by Healthgrades and the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA).

Mayo Clinic and Mytonomy, a provider of cloud-based patient education and information services, announced a collaboration to develop short videos addressing questions concerning breast cancer treatment.

Radiology Partners announced Wednesday, March 28, that it has entered into a new partnership with Access Radiology, the largest radiology practice in Louisiana.

MEDNAX announced on Tuesday, March 27, that it has acquired Cool Springs International, a Franklin, Tennessee-based radiology practice founded in 2008.

Patients in the United States pay about $5,000 per person on healthcare but are not healthier than people in other countries. In article by The Economist, authors examined exactly where the money goes, and which firms profit the most.

Medicare was the primary payer for 90 percent of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) hospitalizations over a recent three-year period, according to a March 19 report in JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions. With that in mind, the recent proposal to cut $473 billion from the CMS budget over the next decade could limit access to the increasingly popular procedure, researchers noted.