Cardiology faces one of its most challenging decades ahead, with mounting pressures from workforce shortages, an aging population and declining reimbursements. To remain sustainable, practices are forced to rethink how care is delivered from the ground up.

Effective Feb. 1, Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina is no longer issuing separate payment for 3D rendering of imaging services (covered by CPT codes 76376 and 76377). 

“Clinicians should carefully weigh the additional resource utilization against the potential benefit," Yale University emergency medicine experts write in JACR. 

Jonathan R. Medverd, MD, emphasized the valuable role such professionals play on physician-led teams, but emphasized they do not have the skills to interpret medical images. 

If three sticking points aren’t unstuck soon, older Americans won’t benefit much by the 1,000+ medical devices that, as of 2025, are both equipped with AI and cleared by the FDA. 

The insurance giant is charging the new board committee with monitoring company policies related to prior authorizations, claims adjudication and AI. The group is scheduled to meet four times a year.

Ladarius Butler took his 3-year-old son to Children’s Hospital Colorado after the boy had trouble breathing. An argument over the care he received led Butler to leave the hospital with the child, prompting staff to call 911. All charges against Butler were dropped, but he has filed a lawsuit against the city of Aurora after he was tased in a Walmart parking lot.

Two lots of IV solution bags from the company were found to contain particulate matter that could cause blockages in blood vessels, killing a patient. To date, no serious adverse events have been reported.