Emphasizing both deficit reduction and investment, President Barack Obama has sent his 2012 budget to Congress, which includes a two-year extension of steady Medicare reimbursements and $32 billion in funding to the National Institutes of Healthpaid for, in part, by $62 billion worth of Medicare savings.

Combining automatic referrals with patient discussions can boost the rates of cardiac rehabilitation. With wider adoption strategies, 45 percent more patients with cardiac disease could be treated with access to the benefits of cardiac rehabilitation, according to a study published in the Feb. 14 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Medical device recalls occur at comparable rates in Europe and the U.S., despite a typically lengthier review process in the U.S., according to a report released by the Advanced Medical Technology Association.

All medical procedures and personnel performances are being scrutinized to ensure minimal waste and maximal outcomes and output. A study last month about non-evidence-based implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) procedures received a lot of press. And rightly so.

The promise of EMRs to improve the efficiency and quality of care makes their universal adoption a matter of when, rather than if.

Adding cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) to optimal medical therapy or defibrillator therapy reduces mortality in heart failure patients, according a meta-analysis published in the Jan. 31 issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

Some practitioners, such as the PARTNER investigators, are advocating that transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) become the new standard of care for patients with aortic stenosis who are not suitable surgical candidates. However, others question whether the quality of life, practice management, cost effectiveness and ethical considerations of treating such sick patients have been answered definitively before it becomes routine clinical practice in the U.S.

While a cardiovascular information system (CVIS) can help practices achieve meaningful use and improve outcomes, due diligence is required to adopt one.