Another year, another dodge on the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula. After 10 years of this, isn’t it time for Congress to acknowledge the SGR is a failure and try another approach? 

A recent appeals court decision has the potential to change the way in which pharmaceutical companies promote off-label uses of their prescription drugs, allowing for a more flexible approach. A Dec. 12, 2012, perspective in the New England Journal of Medicine questioned whether a host of other state and federal regulations can now withstand “such First Amendment scrutiny.”

Congress drew criticism for yet again delaying rather than eliminating a steep pay cut that is a perennial thorn in physicians’ side. Both the Senate and the House passed a bill that puts off a 26.5 percent cut in Medicare physician payments, but it extends only through the end of 2013.

U.S. District Judge Sterling Johnson, Jr., accepted a guilty plea by biotechnology giant Amgen for illegally introducing a misbranded drug into interstate commerce Dec. 19 in Brooklyn, N.Y. The plea is part of a settlement with the U.S., in which Amgen agreed to pay $762 million to resolve criminal and civil liability arising from its sale and promotion of certain drugs, according to the Department of Justice.

The fiscal health of nonprofit hospitals is expected to remain stable in 2013, according to Fitch Ratings, but standalone hospitals will be especially vulnerable if deep cuts in federal reimbursement occur over the year.

A recent survey of physician offices in the U.S. found that 83.6 percent accept Medicare and 67 percent accept Medicaid, with cardiologists having one of the highest rates among specialists.

We appear to be poised on a new era for treating a variety of cardiovascular conditions with renal artery denervation, a percutaneous technique that disrupts the renal sympathetic nervous system using ablation. In this issue of Cardiovascular Business, we talk with interventional cardiologists and electrophysiologists about its potential as a treatment for drug-resistant hypertension, atrial fibrillation and heart failure. While not approved in the U.S., the technique already has been approved for refractory hypertension in parts of Europe and Australia. 

PinnacleHealth embraces new technologies to cost effectively improve care.