Physicians in a randomized trial who engaged in an online educational game that tested their knowledge of treatment for hypertension scored higher than controls in a post-test analysis and achieved modestly better improvement on outcome measures.

Hospitals and some specialties should anticipate the need to “right size” as value-based care gains momentum, according to analyses of inpatient trends in several metropolitan areas. The studies found steep declines in use rates of interventional cardiology and cardiology service lines.

It's estimated that more than 970 million people have hypertension and, globally, the disease is responsible for more than nine million deaths every year, making it one of the leading causes of death worldwide. In an effort to help manage the epidemic, leading scientists from the American Society of Hypertension (ASH), American Heart Association (AHA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) convened a joint panel to discuss a global project aiming to improve the treatment and control of hypertension worldwide.

The FDA is recalling an intravenous solution used to control severe hypertension because of potential contamination.

Owners of the New England Compounding Center in Framingham, Mass., will contribute $100 million as part of a settlement over contaminated products that were linked to a fungal meningitis outbreak and infections in heart transplant patients, the Wall Street Journal reported.

A computerized clinical decision support system reduced the risk of hospitalized patients experiencing a potentially life-threatening arrhythmia, researchers reported online May 6 in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.

Last September we published a cover story in Cardiovascular Business on physician employment, looking at trends in a period of flux. The crystal ball was especially murky for early career cardiologists. It may be a little clearer now.

Objective Medical Systems, LLC has today announced that its Electronic Health Record (EHR) system has earned Meaningful Use Stage 2 Certification from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. This certification represents a significant step toward enabling cardiovascular practices across the nation to select an EHR built specifically for their needs.