Healthcare leaders looking to optimize their workplaces for the health and wellbeing of healthcare workers have a new model from which to draw how-to tips, ideas and guidance.

UnitedHealthcare now requires patients enrolled in certain Medicare Advantage plans to receive a PCP referral before seeing a cardiologist. On May 1, the insurer will start denying all claims that do not include the necessary referral. UnitedHealthcare argues that "stronger PCP engagement" is good for patient care, but many stakeholders disagree.

Alzheimer’s disease already has the nation in a crisis of care capacity. The pressure to do more in response is mounting. Meanwhile the true total cost is hard to estimate since so many dementia caregivers are unpaid family members and other volunteers. 

The new research doesn’t solve the mystery of which tends to come first—the mental illness or the drug use. Regardless, the large study serves to underscore the need for proactive and preventive measures. 

Many experts still recommend SAVR over TAVR for patients younger than 65 years old with severe aortic stenosis. However, transcatheter treatments are growing more and more popular when these younger patients require a valve replacement.

The new analysis included data from more than 22,000 PCI patients treated at one of two high-volume U.S. facilities. Infection was the most common noncardiac cause of death.

A hospital and its security contractor are facing legal trouble over a brutal beating taken by a unit nurse at the hands of a mentally ill inpatient a year ago. 

The new guidance, the first of its kind, focuses on the importance of making a prompt diagnosis and providing care as quickly as possible. While some PE patients with mild cases can be discharged early, others may require an immediate catheter-based intervention or surgery.