Quality

The focus of quality improvement in healthcare is to bolster performance and processes related to diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. Leaders in this space also ensure the proper selection of imaging exams and procedures, and monitor the safety of services, among other duties. Reimbursement programs such as the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) utilize financial incentives to improve quality. This also includes setting and maintaining care quality initiatives, such as the requirements set by the Joint Commission.

TAVR, SAVR linked to similar QOL improvements for intermediate-risk patients after five years
TAVR was initially associated with greater benefits than surgery, but that difference faded by the end of the first year.
$Examples of the messages the Nanox AI algorithms display for incidental findings of spinal compression fractures and detection of coronary calcium. Both can help physicians better understand risk factors or need for therapy in patients through these types of opportunistic screenings on scans being performed for other reasons.$
Routine chest CT often reveals patients at risk for cardiovascular disease, presenting radiology with ‘untapped’ potential
Rads only reported this incidental finding in about 31% to 44% of cases, experts detailed in the Journal of the American College of Radiology.
Implementing a same-day PCI discharge pathway boils down to correct patient selection
Safety is key to which individuals are selected for SDD, and there can be benefits to both patients and health systems as this becomes the predominant model of care in elective PCI.
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles unveils new fetal cardiac clinic
Clinic for expectant mothers designed to better diagnose and treat congenital heart defects and heart diseases before birth.
Data registries have been a huge success for U.S. structural heart programs
ACC/STS National Cardiovascular Data Registry metrics reporting for TAVR is important for marketing and care quality, explains Patricia Keegan, NP, with the Emory Heart and Vascular Center.

COVID-19 precautions implemented in 2020 reduced D2B times in STEMI patients, and its impact continues to reduce times following the pandemic.

Hospitals still struggling to reach pre-COVID heart attack care thresholds due to pandemic disruption

NCDR report finds hospitals are seeing improvements but are still struggling to reach pre-COVID treatment thresholds years after pandemic precautions upended longstanding processes.

October 5, 2023

FDA announces yet another recall, the fifth of 2023, for troubled heart devices

The latest Class I recall is due to mechanical issues that can cause the devices to stop charging their batteries.

August 17, 2023

Imaging companies join forces to deliver AI-guided echocardiography exams

The collaboration, announced at ASE 2023, was launched in the name of patient access.

June 23, 2023

Top 20 children’s hospitals for cardiology and heart surgery

Did your facility make the cut? For its 2023-2024 list, U.S. News and World Report evaluated data from 119 hospitals and surveyed thousands of pediatric specialists.

June 21, 2023

How a New Hampshire heart surgeon racked up 21 malpractice settlements

A law firm hired to investigate the situation reviewed more than 300,000 pages of documents and conducted more than 250 hours of interviews.

June 14, 2023

Rethinking SAVR in the TAVR era: New Cleveland Clinic study explores data from nearly 3,500 patients

SAVR may be even safer for low-risk patients than previously believed, according to new research published in the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. What does this tell us about patient care going forward?

June 13, 2023

Treating elderly atrial fibrillation (AFib) patients—even those who are traditionally ineligible for direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs)—with a very low dose of edoxaban is associated with improved outcomes, according to new research published in JAMA Network Open.

TAVR among 90-year-old patients: An updated look at mortality, hospital costs and more

In-hospital mortality and other key outcomes have improved in recent years, but treating these older patients is still associated with certain challenges.

May 30, 2023

‘Promising’ results as first patients undergo PCI with next-generation pVAD device

The new product from California-based Supira Medical was designed to limit hemolysis and other complications among patients undergoing high-risk PCI or in cardiogenic shock

May 19, 2023

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New imaging protocols proposed to curb rise of cardiovascular infections

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What does radiology have to do with climate change?

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Quality

TAVR, SAVR linked to similar QOL improvements for intermediate-risk patients after five years

Routine chest CT often reveals patients at risk for cardiovascular disease, presenting radiology with ‘untapped’ potential

Implementing a same-day PCI discharge pathway boils down to correct patient selection

Children’s Hospital Los Angeles unveils new fetal cardiac clinic

Data registries have been a huge success for U.S. structural heart programs

Around the web