Guidelines and appropriate use criteria (AUC) are only effective if physicians use them. Cardiovascular societies now turn to apps to give physicians the information they need in a quick and user-friendly format. 

An EHR search could help hospitals improve how they spot venous thromboembolism (VTE) cases. Using a bag-of-words approach, a model accurately and swiftly identified deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE) cases from radiology reports.

“I will be talking through the drone now. Please put down the phone.” Sounds like sci-fi, but a graduate student at Delft University of Technology in The Netherlands built an aerial “ambulance drone” that can transport a defibrillator to treat people in cardiac arrest. The drone’s communication system includes a web cam that emergency personnel use to instruct bystanders. See the drone and supporting cast here.    

An acute ischemic stroke intervention turned a simple text system into significant improvements in door-to-needle times for one center, according to a study published online Oct. 28 in Stroke.

The Department of Homeland Security is working with manufacturers of implantable cardioverter defibrillators, pacemakers and other devices to plug holes in coding that might make them vulnerable to hackers, according to Reuters.

Talk about convenience. The Cleveland Clinic opened two kiosks in a local drug store chain for people who want on-the-spot virtual appointments. A touchscreen computer and video screen allow for a consultation plus provide readings for heart rate and blood pressure.

A pilot program that allowed patients to provide feedback on medications listed in their EHR found 89 percent of respondents requested changes. These patients were also more than twice as likely to use the health system outpatient portal compared to average patients, researchers found.

The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) released an update of the appropriate use criteria (AUC) calculator tool for aiding clinicians in decision making. Updates to the app expanded the options for appropriately treating patients who are candidates for diagnostic catheterization or heart failure imaging.