During the 32nd annual meeting of Heart Rhythm Society (HRS), HRS Chair of Health Policy Richard I. Fogel, MD, echoed the thoughts of many other specialists in the audience. This is a very dynamic healthcare environment with a lot of unknowns. While I am not sure what the picture will look like in the next five years, one thing is for certain, healthcare in the U.S. will be forever different.

Christopher Herzog, MD, PhD, can pinpoint the precise moment he got it about cloud computing vis a vis advanced visualization for cardiovascular imaging. The Munich-based radiologist was preparing for an advanced visualization workstation face-off when his IT preparation partner suggested they try something a little different. The IT partner would log him into a thin-client workstation and, looking at the same images, guide him through the steps hed need to perform at the face-off. Nothing unusual thereexcept that Herzog was at his companys satellite facility in Garmisch, Germany, while the IT partner was somewhere in Portugal.

Healthcare organizations of all sizes are enlisting clinical decision support (CDS) systems to assist providers with decision making. However, to ensure proper utilization and improve the practice of evidence-based medicine, workflow integration at the point of care needs to improve.

Swedens second largest region, Vstra Gtaland region (VGR), has selected GE Healthcares eHealth Image Exchange platform and Centricity Enterprise Archive to facilitate the exchange of images and reports between physicians and specialists at 17 hospitals.

SAN FRANCISCO--"California dreamin' on such a winter's day," sang the Mamas and the Papas. Exciting news poured out of the 32nd annual Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) meeting in San Francisco last week, which included the role of newer anticoagulants, novel technologies for patients who suffer from various heart rhythm disorders and a healthy debate around healthcare policy and reform. There is great hope that these promising results will be taken back and integrated into clinical practice.

Thursday, May 5 - Saturday, May 7

Wednesday, May 4, 8:00 a.m. 3:45 p.m., Room 130

Wednesday, May 4, 8am - 3:45pm