DUBLIN - August 22, 2017 - Medtronic plc (NYSE: MDT) today announced financial results for its first quarter of fiscal year 2018, which ended July 28, 2017.

A week ago, CMS announced it will cancel two mandatory bundled payment programs that were set to begin in 2018. According to an item in Forbes, the pullback from value-based care initiative, which has received mixed reviews within the industry, might have disastrous effects on the Medicare Hospital Trust Fund.

CMS confirmed Tuesday it has proposed to cancel two mandatory bundled payment programs, Episode Payment Models (EPMs) and the Cardiac Rehabilitation Incentive (CRI) payment model, closing a path for cardiologists to qualify for the 5 percent bonus in the Advanced Alternative Payment Models (AAPMs) payment track.

On. Aug. 15, the American Heart Association (AHA) announced CPR training courses will require use of an instrumented directive feedback device, effective Jan. 39, 2019. Using the devices, students receive audiovisual evaluation and corrective instruction on chest compression rate, depth and proper hand placement.

MACRA—the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015—will have profound impact on the healthcare industry as a whole. In the Aug. 14 “Leadership Page” of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, ACC President Mary Norine Walsh, MD, details her views on just how cardiologists and practice administrators can prepare themselves.

A rule title posted to the Federal Register on Aug. 10 indicates CMS will cancel two mandatory bundled payment programs, the Advancing Care Coordination through Episode Payment Models (EPMs) and Cardiac Rehabilitation Incentive (CRI) Payment Models, which were set to start in 2018.

A study of 5,365 patients who underwent cardiac surgery at New Brunswick Heart Centre in Canada revealed patients with higher levels of obesity were four times more likely to require extra time in the intensive care unit, three times more likely to need additional time on mechanical ventilation and three times more likely to be readmitted to the intensive care unit (ICU).

Nitroprusside and isoproterenol, a pair of heart medicines, have been prescribed less since their prices skyrocketed between 2012 and 2015, according to a new research article.