Welcome to the dog days of summer. The phrase suggests unhurried relaxation and unharried contemplation. We can use the breather, given what is on the horizon in healthcare.

Using transradial access during catheterizations rather than the femoral approach can save a hospital on average $275 per patient, according to a cost-benefit analysis. The study, based on 14 randomized controlled trials, found that radial access proved less costly than femoral for catheterizations, despite radials longer procedure time and higher failure rate.

As innovation within the healthcare industry booms, costs continue to soar. Physicians must now be asking themselves: how can we break that cycle? A study published online July 9 in the Archives of Internal Medicine offered a solution when it looked at how reducing drug-eluting stent (DES) use could lead to lower U.S. healthcare costs. In fact, researchers estimated that reducing DES use by 50 percent in low-risk patients could lower U.S. healthcare costs by $205 million per year.

The fee-for-service payment model has drawn fire in recent years for rewarding volume rather than value. The Relative Value Unit (RVU) that serves as a foundation for many physicians compensation also has landed in the cross hairs of critics who argue its use encourages doctors to perform more procedures, regardless of need. Cardiologists have fared relatively well under this system, but with the growing emphasis on patient-centered and quality care, this payment model likely will change. And so may compensation.

Sometimes the best-intentioned public policy decisions have unintended consequences. Fee-for-service may be a case in point.

There are many models and scopes of accountable care organizations (ACO). Addressing standardization obstacles and working toward clinical integration are just two of the challenges standing in the way of success.

The American College of Cardiology (ACC) has put in its two cents to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) about the Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment Systems for Acute Care Hospitals for 2013, urging CMS to rework some of its proposed rules, such as dismembering the implementation of a hospitalwide 30-day readmission measure.

To nobodys surprise, the U.S. House of Representatives has passed Minnesota Republican Erik Paulsens bill to repeal the 2.3 percent excise tax on medical devices set to kick in next January as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.