Economics

This channel highlights factors that impact hospital and healthcare economics and revenue. This includes news on healthcare policies, reimbursement, marketing, business plans, mergers and acquisitions, supply chain, salaries, staffing, and the implementation of a cost-effective environment for patients and providers.

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Cardiologist sues Apple over its HR-monitoring smartwatch tech

A New York cardiologist is suing tech giant Apple over its heartbeat-monitoring smartwatch capabilities, claiming the company lifted his patented HR intervention and has been using the technology without his permission.

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FDA approves icosapent ethyl to reduce CV risk

The FDA has approved Amarin’s Vascepa—icosapent ethyl—to reduce cardiovascular risk beyond cholesterol-lowering therapy in high-risk patients, making it the first drug of its kind to be approved in the U.S.

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3 patients die in violent clash at Pakistan cardiology hospital

At least 80 lawyers have been arrested after a violent altercation between attorneys and physicians left three patients dead at the Punjab Institute of Cardiology in Lahore, Pakistan, the New York Times reports.

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Boston Heart settles kickback allegations with $26.7M payment

Boston Heart Diagnostics of Framingham, Mass., agreed on Dec. 9 to pay $26.67 million to resolve False Claims Act allegations suggesting it paid for patient referrals and improperly billed federal programs for lab testing, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

Falling US life expectancy driven by drug abuse, suicide and CVDs

Life expectancy in the U.S. is lagging far behind that of other developed nations, according to a review published in the Journal of the American Medical Association—a phenomenon driven by an increase in drug overdoses, suicides and organ system diseases like CVD.

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Man dies of MI 6 weeks after cardiologist dismissed his symptoms as anxiety

The widow of a 48-year-old man was awarded $6.3 million this week after her husband, who’d been cleared of CVD by his cardiologist six weeks before his death, suffered a fatal heart attack while jogging.

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Middle-income countries shoulder the bulk of Europe’s CVD burden

A report published in the European Heart Journal Dec. 10 suggests middle-income countries in Europe suffer most heavily from CVD morbidity and mortality.

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Family sues North Carolina Children’s after toddler dies post-heart surgery

The parents of a toddler who died two months after undergoing heart surgery at North Carolina Children’s Hospital are suing the Chapel Hill institution for failing to disclose issues within its pediatric heart surgery program.

Around the web

Ron Blankstein, MD, professor of radiology, Harvard Medical School, explains the use of artificial intelligence to detect heart disease in non-cardiac CT exams.

Eleven medical societies have signed on to a consensus statement aimed at standardizing imaging for suspected cardiovascular infections.