ATLANTA While quality improvement measures in the inpatient setting may have been described and collected at healthcare practices for years, performance measures in the outpatient setting have not been systematically collected and the current performance in the outpatient setting is unknown, according to a presentation at the Comparative Effectiveness and Outcomes session at the 59th annual American College of Cardiology (ACC) conference on March 16.

The Interoperability Showcase at HIMSS10 in Atlanta earlier this month boasted a record number of vendors, more products working together and more scenarios than ever, on nearly an acre of show floor real estate. It shows the evolution of interoperability from a far-away ideal to live, viable options in support of improved patient care, says Lisa Spellman, MBA, CPHIMS, HIMSS senior director of informatics, and secretary, HIMSS-sponsored Domains, Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE) International.

ATLANTA--Ablative intervention was more effective than drug therapy for preventing recurrent symptomatic atrial fibrillation, according to the CABANA trial results presented Monday during a late-breaking clinical trial session at the American College of Cardiologys (ACC) 59th annual conference.  Slides

ATLANTAContrary to current guidelines, taking a lenient approach to controlling heart rate in patients with atrial fibrillation appears to be just as good as taking a strict approach and poses no greater risk of death or other serious complications, according to the RACE II trial presented today during the late breaking clinical trials session at the American College of Cardiologys (ACC) 59th annual conference. Slides

ATLANTAIn high-risk patients with atrial fibrillation who cant tolerate standard blood thinners, such as warfarin, a combination treatment of aspirin and the more expensive clopidogrel (Plavix, Bristol-Myers Squibb/Sanofi-Aventis) is clinically effective for preventing stroke as well as being cost-effective, according to an ACTIVE-A economic substudy presented Sunday at the American College of Cardiologys (ACC) 59th annual scientific session.  Slides

Monday, March 15, 8:00 AM to 9:30 AM   Who doesnt love the pearls and pitfalls sessions? These are one of the best ways to get to the heart of a topic.   It was just a few years ago that papers were appearing describing the successful ablation of idiopathic outflow tract ventricular tachycardia from the distal great cardiac vein rather than the aortic cusp. While this might give EPs another option for treatment protocol, its still important to understand the challenges associated with the aortic valve cusp approach. That is just one of the topics that will be discussed in this session.

Monday, March 15, 8:00 AM - 9:30 AM   In an address to the media, ACC.10 program chairs highlighted some of these late-breaking clinical trials as potential game-changers. In particular, the RACE II trial, depending on the results, could inform how to best control the blood pressure of patients with atrial fibrillation (AF).   Over the last few years, there have been scattered studies evaluating the impact of remote monitoring of patients with implantable devices. This session will contribute to the growing evidence. The study looked that automatic clinical notification via remote monitoring. If past studies are any indication, we can assume that the remote monitoring made for more efficient patient care and better use of physician time. But well have to wait for the results to know for sure.

March 14, Sunday 4:30 PM to 6:00 PM   An ATHENA trial showed that after a 30-month follow up of more than 4,000 atrial fibrillation (AF) and atrial flutter patients, cardiovascular hospitalizations and death occurred 24 percent less in patients administered dronedarone than in those administered a placebo. A post-hoc analysis of the ATHENA trial also showed that those on the drug had a reduction in stroke.While amiodarone has been on the U.S. market since the mid-1980s, dronedarone is a new-comer. How do physicians gauge the difference between drugs that have been around for decades with newer-generation therapies? In this session. Dr. Peter Smith from Marshfield, Wis., will present anti-arrhythmic case presentations and a panel of distinguished physicians in the EP field will discuss the ramifications.