Approximately 70 percent of the recent decline in healthcare spending growth from 2009-2011 was due to the economic downturn, and not to other factors such as health sector responses to the Affordable Care Act, according to a new study published in the August issue of Health Affairs.


August 13, 2014 — ECRI Institute’s SELECTplus User Experience Network recently polled hundreds of MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) system users on a variety of criteria, including image quality, coil selection and setup, ease of use, patient throughput and vendor support. The survey results include function, feature and service ratings for each model, grouped by vendor to show how each vendor’s product line fares in each category.

Celladon Corp. announced that the first patient has been dosed in a clinical trial titled "Investigation of the Safety and Feasibility of AAV1/SERCA2a Gene Transfer in Patients with Heart Failure and a Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD)," which is designed to assess the potential utility of MYDICAR in advanced heart failure patients whose hearts are being supported by LVADs.

 The polypill, a combination pill taken just once a day that includes key medications for secondary prevention of heart disease, may be an effective low-cost strategy to improve adherence to medication recommendations and reduce costs, according to researchers from Spain and New York, who reviewed research on the polypill.

August 12, 2014 — The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) took action to improve access to Abbott’s MitraClip system after issuing its fiscal year 2015 ruling on the inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS), which includes a new technology add-on payment (NTAP) for MitraClip while maintaining MitraClip within its current diagnosis-related group (DRG) classification.

August 12, 2014 — Like clues to a crime, specific molecules in the body can hint at exposure to toxins, infectious agents or even trauma, and therefore help doctors determine whether and how to treat a patient. In recent years, tiny pieces of RNA called microRNAs have captured scientific attention for their potential as markers of health and disease.

A new study found that staff members who joined structured team debriefings after emergency care for children suffering in-hospital cardiac arrests improved their CPR performance and substantially increased the rates of patients surviving with favorable neurological outcomes.

Teleflex Inc.’s subsidiary Hotspur Technologies Inc. received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 510(k) clearance to market the Arrow GPSCath Balloon Dilatation Catheters designed for use with 0.014-inch guidewires and in 150-cm length. 

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