American Health Care, and Notably Cardiovascular Care, Cannot be Defined by WHO Mortality Rankings
- Tue, 10/25/11 - 3:17pm
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- 600 reads
The costly American health care system, allegedly, has overpromised and underperformed, and, as such, a reduction in public and private funding for research and physician compensation seems, to some, justified. This perspective, the focus of intense political debate, has been erroneously advanced citing the US’s poor WHO (World Health Organization) mortality rankings and that higher ranking countries spend considerably less per capita for health care.
Achieving Optimal Arterial Access for PCI
- Thu, 9/29/11 - 3:02pm
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- 2171 reads
Achieving optimal arterial access for performance of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) should involve considerations of safety, efficacy, timeliness, and patient satisfaction with safety paramount. In this regard, there has been a heightened awareness of the importance of periprocedural access site bleeding due to its association with morbidity, mortality, and increased costs.1-3
Transradial Coronary Angiography and Percutaneous Intervention in the Era of Health Care Reform, Cost Containment, and Patient-Centered Care
- Thu, 8/25/11 - 2:38pm
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- 2338 reads
ABSTRACT: There has been tremendous pressure on cardiovascular services to reduce costs in health care delivery while maintaining the quality of care. The transradial approach to coronary angiography and interventions has been demonstrated to answer this call by offering superior outcomes while reducing the cost burden of vascular complications compared to traditional transfemoral approaches. Herein, we discuss the cost effectiveness of the transradial approach as a valid modality for angiography and interventions in this era of health care reform.
FDA Approval Does Not Mean What You Think it Does!
- Fri, 8/6/10 - 12:52pm
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- 3924 reads
J INVASIVE CARDIOL 2010;22:382–384
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The Department of Health and Human Services’ (DHHS) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is well known to Americans, as are their terms “FDA approval” and “off-label usage.” Unfortunately, the inappropriate usage of these terms has created confusion because of misinterpretation, which has damaged the doctor-patient relationship, as well as the incorrect conclusion that FDA approval enabled product use and insurance (Medicare) reimburs
In Memoriam: Dr. Donald S. Baim
- Mon, 6/7/10 - 8:41am
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ABSTRACT: Dr. Donald Baim was widely regarded as one of the founders and pioneers of the profession of interventional cardiology. Herein is a brief report of his life and contributions along with perspectives from the society of interventional cardiology, his mentors, colleagues and students.
J INVASIVE CARDIOL 2010;22:296–297
“Looking back, I’m struck that we as interventional cardiologists have never simply accepted the limitations placed before us. We’ve always tried to overcome them through creative thinking — and then to subject the results of t
Physician-Hospital Alignment: Finding the Sweet Spot
- Tue, 9/1/09 - 1:50pm
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- 2373 reads
Many group practices, specialists and primary-care physicians are having their practices assessed in order to determine whether the practice should: (a) remain independent; (b) merge with another practice; or (c) agree to become employed by a hospital.
We believe that these alternatives widely miss the mark. In order for a medical practice to navigate successfully in today’s economic mean streets, you have to reprogram your GPS: your “destination-goal” is no longer simply whether to stay independent, merge or seek hospital employment, since these are now just short-term decisions, and
The Army of Medicine without Any Soldiers
- Tue, 6/9/09 - 3:14pm
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- 3656 reads
The United States is in a recession, and shifting priorities have relegated medicine, health care and health insurance to secondary issues. Thus, the real issue of health care will not come to the forefront and receive significant attention. It is likely that physicians’ concerns and needs will be ignored. I believe that the primary resolution of our health-care crisis will not come from the implementation of universal health insurance, but rather through the existence and quality of physicians practicing the best medicine possible for patients. Without adequate numbers of highly trained phy
LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Letting the Air out of the Follow-up Balloon
- Fri, 8/1/08 - 11:13am
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- 1250 reads
To the Editor:
We’ve read the editorial comment1 made by Dr. Turi on our study “Percutaneous Mitral Valvotomy: Six Year Follow-up”.2 Although we thank Dr. Turi for his insights, we disagree profoundly with the core of his criticism concerning lack of follow-up for 46 patients. We clearly stated that this was an analysis of patients with more than 6 months of follow-up. The rest of the population that he claims we didn’t follow is explained because we didn’t have the data regarding restenosis at 6 months, simply by the fact that they haven’t yet reached that time point. Neverthel
Should Interventional Cardiologists Treat Ischemic Strokes? A Global Perspective
- Fri, 8/1/08 - 11:13am
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Need for stroke interventionists. More than 750,000 strokes occur annually in the United States.1,2 Currently, stroke is the third leading cause of death (60.2 deaths per 100,000 population) and the leading cause of severe neurological disability in our nation. As the elderly segment of the population continues to grow, the stroke death rate has the potential to reach epidemic proportions. Historically, ischemic stroke has been a disease entity approached in terms of prevention and palliation. The phrase “brain attack” is being used more frequently as recent advances have reshaped t
Carotid Stenting: A Gordian Knot to be Unraveled (Part I of II)
- Fri, 8/1/08 - 11:13am
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- 1441 reads
Balloons, stents and embolic protection devices, as treatment for extracranial obliterative disease, have created in recent decades a predicament not dissimilar to the percutaneous treatment of coronary angioplasty and mitral valvuloplasty. The latter 2 procedures, using observational data, supplanted standard surgical procedures, and these successions occurred without the imprimatur of a large, expensive, “randomized” trial, which juxtaposed the percutaneous against the surgical procedure. Thus, why the furor over carotid stenting?
“Changes in attitude, and changes in latitude” (
