Medical malpractice claims and costs are likely to rise as changes from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act take effect, an analysis by RAND Corp. predicted.

Some patients hospitalized for various cardiac illnesses who had or developed mental health conditions fared better under a low-intensity care program in a clinical trial. The results were published online April 14 in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Providers who integrate remote care management (RCM) strategies into their post-discharge protocols will be well positioned as reimbursement transitions from fee for service to value based, an executive wrote April 4 in the Health Affairs blog. His hospital reduced congestive heart failure 30-day readmissions by 4 percent using RCM technology.

Two researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and the Penn Cardiovascular Institute (CVI) are among the 2014 recipients of the prestigious Clinical Research Achievement Award for their work in cardiovascular science. The awards are presented by the Clinical Research Forum to physician scientists from across the country. Ten projects are selected annually that represent outstanding examples of research projects that benefit the health and wellbeing of the general public. This is the first time that one academic institution has had two recipients honored in one year.

The global cardiovascular information system (CVIS) market is on a growth trajectory, a market research company reported in April.

Citing echocardiograms and nuclear cardiology as examples of distorted incentives, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPac) recommends aligning outpatient prospective payment rates to physician office rates. The change could trim $264 off hospital payments for certain echo procedures.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Cardiology appears to be tailor-made for value-based healthcare models such as accountable care organizations (ACOs). “Cardiology fits better than any other specialty because we are the most integrated specialty,” cardiologist C. Michael Valentine, MD, said March 29 at the American College of Cardiology scientific session.

UltraSPECT, provider of the only multi-vendor and most cost-effective imaging solution for meeting the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology (ASNC) low dose guidelines, announces today that Hamilton Cardiology Associates (HCA), Hamilton Township, New Jersey, will leverage UltraSPECT’s Xpress3.Cardiac software to reduce radiation exposure and shorten exam time for patients. HCA is a full service cardiology practice with 12 physicians including six board certified nuclear cardiologists, and has been serving Mercer County and its surrounding areas for more than 20 years.