Cardiology practices have always faced fairly distinctive coding and billing challenges. Rapidly declining reimbursement for key servicesincluding nuclear medicine, cath labs and consultationsnow makes it imperative for cardiology practices to capture and collect every legitimate charge.

Investing in ambulatory surgery centers provides physicians better profits and incentives, but is also linked with a high level of surgical volume, according to a study published in the April issue of HealthAffairs.

Patients who receive an audiotape of their consultation before undergoing heart surgery appear to have more knowledge about their procedures and their health, and also have reduced anxiety and depression, according to a study in this months Archives of Surgery.

Two Atlanta-based health systems, the Saint Josephs Health System and Piedmont Healthcare, have signed a letter of intent to begin discussions centering around the possibility of entering into an agreement to operate as a Joint Operating Company.

George E. Weems Memorial Hospital in Apalachicola, Fla., and Nephrology Associates of Central Florida in Winter Park, Fla., have selected to install radiology technologies from RIS/PACS provider NovaRad.

Cardiovascular Business News asked Sean Benson, co-founder and vice president of consulting with ProVation Medical, of Wolters Kluwer Health, to discuss the specific EHR needs of ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) that specialize in cardiology.

The Public Citizens Health Research Group has released a report calculating the rate of serious disciplinary actions per 1,000 doctors in each state, finding that the rate of serious actions per 1,000 physicians in 2009 was slightly higher than the rate in 2008, though it continues to be significantly lower than the peak for the past ten years.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has revoked its May 2008 lipid modification guidelines (CG67) that promoted the use of the Framingham Risk Score as a tool to assess cardiovascular risks.