January 29, 2010 |  0
In this unblinded trial, 167 patients with recurrent symptomatic afib despite anti-arrythmic therapy were randomized to catheter ablation or another anti-arrythmic therapy. At 9 months, 66% of the catheter group remained free of recurrent afib, compared to only 16% of the anti-arrythmic group. Treatment related major adverse effects occurred in 5% of the catheter group […]
January 29, 2010 |  1
Troy Ahlstrom writes… As I’m sure you’re aware, CMS has eliminated consult codes for 2010.  (We’ve discussed this topic on this blog previously with Drs. Nelson and Bessler.)  Interestingly, our practice ran an analysis on the effect of changing these inpatient consultation codes (99251-55) over to new patient history and physical codes (99231-33) and found […]
January 28, 2010 |  1
FYI, Glenn wrote to family and friends last night saying that he is not the new CMS administrator. We’ll see… (Lesson – don’t believe everything you read in the blogosphere. Yes, even mine.) Turning to more important matters, now I’ve gotta decide about that iPad…
January 28, 2010 |  2
If you’re in healthcare, the most important announcement today will not be Steve Jobs’ introduction of the iPad (thrilling as that is). Rather, it will be President Obama’s expected announcement of the appointment of Dr. Glenn Steele as the new director of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. At this writing, it is still […]
January 25, 2010 |  0
In this prospective multi-center trial of 630 ICU patients, patients were randomized to pro-calcitonin guided antibiotics or usual care. The pro-calcitonin group had antibiotics started or stopped based on pre-determined pro-calcitonin levels. There was no difference in 28 or 60 day mortality between the groups, but days of antibiotics were less in the pro-calcitonin group […]
January 21, 2010 |  0
The study evaluated the long term effectiveness of a multi-faceted VTE prevention program, consisting of a risk assessment linked to a menu of VTE prophylaxis options (within order entry templates), coupled with education, audit/feedback, and identification of non-adherence. Within 3 years, rates of adequate prophylaxis increased from 58% to 93%, and the risk of hospitalized […]