Cardiologists might grumble about reimbursement and other healthcare challenges (and with good reason), but they certainly know where their hearts are. The devastation in Haiti following the earthquake on Jan. 12 produced an outpouring of help from the cardiology community that should be recognized. While we cant list everyone, a few examples will show the spirit in action.

While no recent studies have been conducted to identify the number and type of physicians going into concierge, or retainer, medicine, from most published accounts there has been an increase in the number of internists exploring or converting to this type of practice. In addition, the concierge medicine practice model is likely to pique the interest of certain specialists such as cardiologists and nephrologists, who tend to establish long-term relationships with their patients.

The 21.2 percent cut in Medicare reimbursement officially went into effect Monday, March 1, but the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a guidance Friday that will delay its effects for two weeks, or until the U.S. Senate acts on a bill delaying the cut.

St. Luke's Hospital of Kansas City and North Kansas City Hospital in Kansas City, Mo., are partnering with Mid America Heart and Lung Surgeons, also located in Kansas City, in a new hospital-physician arrangement.

Physicians are working fewer weekly hours and making less money than they did in recent decades, which is inconsistent with other professional careers. Any further negative economic factors could be the tipping point for unsustainable decreases in hours worked in a market already hurt by physician shortages, according to a study in the Feb. 24 issue of Journal of the American Medical Association.

When physicians indicate a medical situation is an exception to a guideline, most of the time these medical decisions are correct. These findings have implications for improved decision-support tools, according to a study published in the Feb. 16 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.

MedCath and its physician partners have entered into a definitive agreement to sell substantially all the assets of Heart Hospital of Austin to St. David's Healthcare Partnership, an Austin, Texas-based joint venture of HCA, Nashville.

In an American Heart Association survey of 1,105 adults pre-identified with a heart condition, stroke or high blood pressure, 56 percent reported trouble paying their medical expenses, 16 percent had no health insurance coverage at all and 29 percent reported that medical costs to treat cardiovascular disease consumed most of their savings.