ATLANTAU.S. healthcare provider focus must be changed to hospital performance and outcomes rather than volume and throughput, said Janet Wright, MD, during a presentation at the 59th annual American College of Cardiology (ACC) scientific sessions on Monday.

Testing patients for peripheral arterial disease (PAD) via abnormal ankle brachial index (ABI) exams can identify patients at risk for future cardiac events who were not considered in the high-risk category with Framingham risk assessments, according to results of a clinical trial presented at the 35th annual scientific meeting of the Society of Interventional Radiology's in Tampa, Fla.

ATLANTAImplementing a blood management program across a health system optimizes blood utilization in cardiac surgery and saves blood acquisition costs, according to a poster presentation featured during the American College of Cardiology Administrators (ACCA) annual cardiovascular administrators leadership conference this week.

Tuesday, March 16, 12:15 PM - 1:45 PM   Coding and documentation had better be correct for several reasons. First, the recovery audit contractors (RACs) are scrutinizing hospital records to ensure that Medicare has not overpaid. These contractors get a percentage of what they recover, so expect them to be very thorough.

Monday, March 15, 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM Richard Satava, MD, a professor of surgery at the University of Washington in Seattle, will deliver the Bishop Lecture. He will discuss such topics as robotic surgery, virtual reality, surgical simulation and other high-tech applications. In an address to the media, ACC Program Chair James McClurken said that Satava will discuss some controversial topics, so stay tuned.

Sunday, March 14, 12:15 PM - 1:45 PM Grab some food, find a table and listen to experts discuss how you can improve quality, whether youre in a small or large or academic or private practice. This is just the right type of informal gathering that ACC.10 attendees should take in. The government is increasingly asking for more documented quality improvements, and facilities also want to enact their own quality benchmarks. With meaningful use of EHR deadlines approaching, how do practices put it all together? No doubt, this session will prove valuable in that regard.

Sunday, March 14, 2010, 12:15 PM - 1:45 PM   What is a better way to learn more about the inner workings of the government regarding healthcare reform than to listen to two insiders! This is definitely the place you want to be on Sunday at noon. Id suggest arriving early to get a good seat as this is the hottest topic in town.

Sunday, March 14, 10:30 AM - 2:30 PM  As part of a four-hour practice administrators program, Cathleen D. Biga will deliver a lecture titled: Emerging into 2010, Preparing for 2011: EMR Stimulus and Meaningful Use Criteria/Quality Initiative. The title is a mouthful but Biga is known for her practice management skills and she will no doubt deliver the goods.