A new report highlighting data from the American College of Cardiology’s (ACC) National Cardiovascular Data Registry (NCDR) provides a snapshot of the many ways clinical registry data can be used to assess quality of care and outcomes associated with broad populations of patients with cardiovascular disease.

On Oct. 1, 2014, the ICD-10 system will replace the current ICD-9 codes. ICD-10 implementation will change the way coding is currently done and the code set will grow from 14,315 diagnosis codes to more than 69,099 codes. These changes will require a significant effort to implement the new system and this is the time to start preparations in your practice.

Join the American College of Cardiology on Oct. 22 at 2 p.m. ET for a webinar on “Promoting Patient Outcomes and Quality Care Through Physician/Hospital Alignment.”

The American College of Cardiology’s NCDR® ICD Registry™ and the Heart Rhythm Society will host a webinar on Oct. 16 at 7 p.m. ET on how to leverage the ICD Registry to measure and improve quality of care while simultaneously addressing physician needs for ABIM's Part IV Maintenance of Certification Program.

Perceptions of providing quality care to patients and frustrations with EHRs play a large role in physicians’ professional satisfaction, a report from RAND Corp. concluded.

A web-based program for managing patients with high blood pressure that included a pharmacist component was cost-effective, according to a study published online Sept. 16 in the American Journal of Managed Care.

As long as the government is on pause, let’s take a moment to reflect on one critical function that affects patient care: clinical trials.

In a study of physicians with substance misuse issues, the physicians reported a variety of reasons for their misuse of prescription drugs, including pain control, emotional distress, stress management, recreational reasons and avoidance of withdrawal. These findings were published in the September/October issue of Journal of Addiction Medicine.