Joel Greenwald describes why he gave up his medical practice to become a financial planner. The career change has allowed him to counsel fellow physicians “so they can concentrate on their practice, their family and other interests.”

The use of a mechanical cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) machine offered no survival advantage over manual CPR in a European study published in the Jan. 1 issue of JAMA. There was no significant difference in four-hour survival between the two types of resuscitation and neurological outcomes were good six months later in both groups.

The use of telestroke networks may be more cost-efficient and lead to better outcomes among acute ischemic stroke patients than routine treatment at a community hospital with no such network, according to a study published in the December issue of the American Journal of Managed Care.

Hospitals striving to reduce avoidable 30-day readmissions should look beyond the cause of patients’ index admission to their comorbidities, according to a study published Dec. 16 in BMJ. Heart failure was one of three comorbidities that carried a higher risk for potentially avoidable readmissions.

Happy New Year! As we usher in 2014, it is a safe bet that the next 12 months will be busy and bumpy for cardiovascular specialists and administrators.

Thirteen percent of cardiologists in a private practice reported in a survey that they actively were seeking to sell, largely due to reimbursement cuts and the cost of maintaining their practices.

Cardiologists, like physicians in general, haven’t fully embraced e-prescribing but a study found the specialty is ahead of the pack in ownership and use of computerized prescription systems.

People who strive to be the picture of perfect health may find a helper in the form of their smartphones. Engineers have designed an accessory that uses a smartphone camera to measure cholesterol levels.