Care Delivery

This channel includes news on cardiovascular care delivery, including how patients are diagnosed and treated, cardiac care guidelines, policies or legislation impacting patient care, device recalls that may impact patient care, and cardiology practice management.

Medical debt vs. Medicaid expansion: One state has a clear winner
Researchers found enrollment correlated with big reductions in medical debt as signaled by collections activity and subprime credit scores.
Fewer stents, positive outcomes: Sirolimus-eluting balloons a safe alternative during PCI
Using a DCB that releases sirolimus over an extended period of time appears to be both safe and effective when treating patients who present with NSTEMI or unstable angina.
5 reasons not to (solely) blame insurance companies for what ails US healthcare
As this midterm-election year barrels toward decision day, health insurers continue taking punches from both political parties. The piling-on might be as unfair as it is understandable.
How long will we accept patients languishing in the ER as normal? (asks a firsthand witness to ‘boarding’ who’s also a distinguished journalist and an erstwhile ER doctor)
Boarding is hospital-speak for when patients get left in the emergency department, typically on gurneys or in wheelchairs, for many hours—sometimes days—because no inpatient beds are available.
First bedside procedure of its kind performed by traveling clinicians on premature infant
The 22-week-old patient was successfully treated by a traveling cardiologist—all without being transported to the cath lab.

C-suite surveyors: AI ‘continues to excite healthcare leaders’

AI and patient care are “top of mind” for healthcare executives in 2024. The pairing seems opportune, since the surveyed leaders see the burgeoning technology as a key tool for improving the perennial mission.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that Inari Medical is recalling its ClotTriever XL catheter for removing blood clots and other blockages from large blood vessels. The news comes after the FDA received several reports of “serious adverse events” due to the device becoming entrapped or blocking arteries in the patient’s lungs. Six deaths and four other patient injuries have been associated with the issue so far.

FDA announces recall of Inari Medical catheter after 6 deaths, 4 injuries

The FDA ruled that this is a Class I recall due to the significant risks for patients. Customers are not required to return the devices, however. Inari Medical has provided updated warnings and recommendations that should be followed.

TAVR and SAVR linked to comparable long-term outcomes, new meta-analysis confirms

Researchers combined data from three well-known clinical trials—NOTION, Evolut Low Risk and PARTNER 3—and evaluated thousands of low-risk patients who presented with severe aortic stenosis.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that Defibtech, a Nihon Kohden company, is recalling its RMU-2000 ARM XR Chest Compression Device due to significant safety concerns. This is a Class I recall, which means the FDA believes using the device “may cause serious injury or death.”

Automated chest compression device recalled after patient death

Regulators emphasized that these devices should not be used due to significant safety risks.

Industry Watcher’s Digest

The NIH’s Office of Science Policy recently posted some essential new guidance for healthcare researchers.

artificial intelligence AI in healthcare kaiser permanente daniel yang md

7 points of positivity likely to win buy-in for healthcare AI

Kaiser Permanente AI exec Daniel Yang, MD: ‘With a focus on building trust, we use AI only when it advances our core mission of delivering high-quality, affordable healthcare services.’

High vs. low oxygen levels during heart surgery: Is one strategy safer than the other?

Researchers tracked patients undergoing elective cardiac surgery at a high-volume medical center, treating 50% of the selected cohort with above-average oxygen levels.

Interventional cardiologists in Canada have performed the world’s first implant of a new coronary sinus reducer designed to treat chest pain patients who see no benefits from other available interventional or surgical treatments. The A-Flux Reducer System was designed and developed by VahatiCor, a new medical device company associated with California-based T45 Labs.

Cardiologists detail world’s first implant of new device for ‘no-option’ chest pain patients

The A-Flux Reducer System by VahatiCor was designed to “conform seamlessly” to any patient’s anatomy, and it can be repositioned or retrieved as necessary.

Care Delivery

Medical debt vs. Medicaid expansion: One state has a clear winner

Fewer stents, positive outcomes: Sirolimus-eluting balloons a safe alternative during PCI

5 reasons not to (solely) blame insurance companies for what ails US healthcare

How long will we accept patients languishing in the ER as normal? (asks a firsthand witness to ‘boarding’ who’s also a distinguished journalist and an erstwhile ER doctor)

First bedside procedure of its kind performed by traveling clinicians on premature infant