Care Delivery

This channel includes news on cardiovascular care delivery, including how patients are diagnosed and treated, cardiac care guidelines, policies or legislation impacting patient care, device recalls that may impact patient care, and cardiology practice management.

pediatric emergency readiness

How poised is your state to handle a disaster with mass pediatric casualties?

Illinois, New Jersey and Tennessee are the only states in the country to mandate emergency preparedness for pediatric patients.

Masking, social distancing ‘do not reduce and may enhance’ subjective well-being in the pandemic-wary

Regardless of effectiveness or lack thereof, pandemic-response measures like masking and social distancing give many people a sense of being better off with them than without them. 

business of healthcare billions

3 unrelated business deals worth a collective $11B turn heads in healthcare

This week has seen a cluster of healthcare-related business moves valued in the billions with a B.

artificial intelligence physician clinician

Google’s chief clinical officer: Healthcare AI ‘should happen with clinicians, not to them’

Generative AI of the “large language” kind has been an attention hog over the past 10 or 11 months. The buzz has been so loud and constant that it’s all but asking to be dismissed as hype.

pain pills opioids

EHR, pharmacy alerts reduce opioid prescribing

Deploying specific alerts could help health systems prescribe fewer opioids at a time when overdoses are at an all-time high. 

healthcare ownership pricing billing transparency

5 reasons healthcare needs ‘ownership transparency’ now

Do you know who owns your personal favorite doctor’s practice? Could it be a healthcare conglomerate? An insurance company? A private equity firm? Amazon?

cross market hospital mergers

Who benefits—and who doesn’t—when 2 disparate health systems come together as 1?

It’s easy to see the appeal of cross-market hospital mergers to the marrying partners. How these long-distance entwinements help patients is a separate question.

A study that analyzed patient outcomes in coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) in veterans showed outcomes for on-pump and off-pump procedures over 10 years to be similar. Photo by Jim Lennon

The 50 best hospitals in the world for cardiac surgery

The new ranking, based on extensive survey data gathered by Newsweek, includes a total of 150 hospitals. Seven of the top 10 are located in the United States. 

Around the web

The tirzepatide shortage that first began in 2022 has been resolved. Drug companies distributing compounded versions of the popular drug now have two to three more months to distribute their remaining supply.

The 24 members of the House Task Force on AI—12 reps from each party—have posted a 253-page report detailing their bipartisan vision for encouraging innovation while minimizing risks. 

Merck sent Hansoh Pharma, a Chinese biopharmaceutical company, an upfront payment of $112 million to license a new investigational GLP-1 receptor agonist. There could be many more payments to come if certain milestones are met.