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Scooped by Seth Bilazarian, MD onto Heart and Vascular Health |
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A morsel of good news about Medicare drug coverage for the coming year: 2013 premiums will remain basically level for the fourth year in a row.
As it has since 2010, the average monthly premium is projected to hover around $30, the federal Department of Health and Human Services has announced. Last year, the actual amount came in a few cents lower, at $29.67. And the dread doughnut hole, which this year suspends coverage once spending hits $2,930, will kick in a few dollars later, at $2,970.
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NerdWallet sifted through the fifty largest metro areas to find the ones with the best indicators of health, including health scores for the residents, health insurance coverage and a high prevalence of doctors and clean air. NerdWallet assessed the health score according to the following factors: How fit are the residents? We assessed fitness of residents through the American Fitness Index, a composite index that includes the CDC’s Selected Metropolitan/Micropolitan Area Risk Trends Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, environmental factors from the Trust for Public Lands, rates of disease and other government data.Is healthcare accessible? We incorporated the percentage of residents who have health insurance as well as the number of physicians per 100,000 residents.Is the air quality good? Research shows that cleaner air adds an average of 4 months to a resident’s life expectancy. We included the number of high particle pollution days per year for each metro area.
Seth Bilazarian, MD's insight:
Boston is number one in this survey. The assessment mixes healthiest city parameters like fitness and pollution with most available and accessible medical care. Different things, both important. The survey is a little stacked toward cities with multiple medical schools and therefore multiple training programs and therefore multiple doctors. Delete the scoop?
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Scooped by Seth Bilazarian, MD |
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People who own dogs or cats may have a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease,.
Top Ten Things To Know Pet Ownership and Cardiovascular Risk
1. This AHA Scientific Statement critically assesses studies regarding the influence of pet ownership on the presence and reduction of CVD risk factors as a novel strategy in reducing the risk of CVD.
2. Pet ownership, particularly of dogs, is probably associated with decreased CVD risk (LOE B), and may have a causal role in reducing CVD risk (LOE B). Further investigation is needed to establish a causal relationship.
3. While pet ownership may be reasonable for the reduction in CVD risk (Class IIb, LOE B), pet adoption, rescue, or purchase should not be done for the primary purpose of reducing CVD risk (Class III, LOE C).
4. An association between pet ownership and lower blood pressure has been found in some, but not all, studies.
5. Of all pets, dogs seem most likely to positively influence physical activity, especially with owners who regularly walk their dogs.
6. Pets also play an important role in providing social support, which is one of the most significant predictors of adherence to behavior change over time.
7. Companion animals may strengthen engagement in a weight loss program.
8. A positive relationship between pet ownership and autonomic function or cardiovascular reactivity to stress has been reported in most published studies. People with pets tend to have lower baseline heart rates, lower blood pressures, and significantly reduced increases in heart rate and blood pressure in response to stress. Recovery time from a stressful event is also markedly improved.
9. Further investigation is warranted regarding the influence of pet ownership on reducing CVD risk, including those on risk factor modification, primary prevention, and use of pet acquisition as a part of a strategy for secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease.
10. Minimal data are available to make an association between hyperlipidemia and pet ownership, as well as survival in people without established cardiovascular disease and pet ownership.
COMPLETE INFO at
Levine GN, et al; on behalf of the American Heart Association Council on Clinical Cardiology and Council on Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing. Pet ownership and cardiovascular risk: a scientific statement from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2013:
http://circ.ahajournals.org/lookup/doi/10.1161/CIR.0b013e31829201e1
DISCLOSURE - I'm a dog lover. I have given patient's prescriptions to get a dog and walk the dog twice daily. I've also told patients to walk the dog every day whether they have a dog or not.
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Scooped by Seth Bilazarian, MD |
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Subclinical hyperthyroidism is associated with a 20% increased risk for cardiovascular mortality, primarily driven by heart-failure deaths, according to a large study in more than half a million individuals from general practice in Denmark, reported at the 2013 European Congress on Endocrinology.
"The main finding is a 20% increased risk of mortality in all levels of hyperthyroidism, including overt and subclinical but also high-normal, euthyroid patients, those lying in the lower range of the normal thyroid-stimulating hormone [TSH],"
"The take-home message is that if a person has a family history with any thyroid problem or has any signs of thyroid problems, they should go for a checkup. Their family doctors need to be aware that any sign of thyroid abnormality can affect cardiovascular health, and they should act accordingly."
The link between overt hyperthyroidism and cardiovascular mortality is quite well established, he said, but the finding of an association with subclinical hyperthyroid disease is much more novel.
Of 574,595 included individuals (mean age, 48.7 years; 39.1% male), 95.9% were euthyroid, 1603 (0.3%) had overt hypothyroidism, 11,834 (2.1%) had subclinical hypothyroidism, 3967 (0.7%) had overt hyperthyroidism, and 6264 (1.1%) had subclinical hyperthyroidism.
Symptoms of hyperthyroidism are not evident in patients who have sub-clinical hyperthyroidism. The levels are abnormal but their are no symptoms. In this very large study, the risk of death was 20% higher. testing the thyroid level is very simple and is performed on a non fasting blood test.
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Scooped by Seth Bilazarian, MD |
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Eating fish, chicken, olive oil and other foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids while staying away from meats and dairy -- the so-called Mediterranean diet -- may help older adults keep their memory and thinking skills sharp, a large new U.S. study suggests.
Using data from participants enrolled in a nationwide study on stroke, the researchers gleaned diet information from more than 17,000 white and black men and women whose average age was 64.
The participants also took tests that measured their memory and thinking (cognitive) skills. During the four years of the study, 7 percent of the individuals developed problems with these skills, the researchers reported.
"Greater adherence to Mediterranean diet was associated with lower risk of incident cognitive impairment in this large population-based study," said lead researcher Dr. Georgios Tsivgoulis, from the University of Alabama at Birmingham as well as the University of Athens, in Greece.
This makes reasonable biological sense since brain and cognitive health is so dependent on vascular health. Strategies that improve vascular health and function of many years will reduce the likelihood of declining mental function.
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Scooped by Seth Bilazarian, MD |
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The FDA is creating a largely automated surveillance system to monitor safety of high-risk medical devices, and has authorized a cellphone app for doctors to simplify reporting deaths and injuries to the agency.
"There's an app for that." Physicians are often criticized for not doing a better job reporting adverse events and this is largely because the method for reporting to the FDA has been burdensome and difficult. An easy to use reporting strategy from a smartphone will increase my reporting dramatically. The speed of reporting and analysis by FDA for actionable items should be significantly shortened.
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Many U.S. adolescents are already on their way to increased cardiovascular risk in adulthood, researchers found.
Roughly half of about 5,000 study participants ages 12 to 19 (54.7% of males and 50.5% of females) met "ideal" standards for fewer than five of the seven variables developed by the American Heart Association to define cardiovascular health, according to Christina Shay, PhD, of the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City, and colleagues.
And 0% met all seven variables including not smoking and having low total cholesterol, the researchers reported online in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.
Will this be the first generation that has worse health than the prior generation? It is amazing that 0% of the surveyed teens met all the ideal seven variables:
Cardiovascular health among adolescents is defined using the ideal state of seven variables:
Smoking status (never smoked)Body mass index (BMI below the 85th percentile)Dietary intake (consumption of healthy levels of at least four of the following: vegetables, fish, whole grains, sodium, and added sugar in sugar-sweetened beverages)Physical activity (at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity a day)Blood pressure (below the 90th percentile)Blood glucose (less than 100 mg/dLTotal cholesterol (less than 170 mg/dL)
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Scooped by Seth Bilazarian, MD |
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A tiny South Pacific airline is charging passengers based on their weight, at a time when other carriers have only ventured to seek payment for luggage and meals.
Customers flying Samoan upstart carrier Samoa Air Ltd. on short international hops to neighboring American Samoa are set to pay US$0.92 per kilogram, or $0.42 a pound, for each flight.
Hard to beleive that Americans could ever tolerate this. Paying $20 more for being 50 pounds over weight or $40 for being 100 pounds overweight does not seem like much of an incentive but the "weigh in" at the airport counter might encourage weight loss for some.
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Scooped by Seth Bilazarian, MD |
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Stewart Hamilton, Chief Medical Officer at Medical Travel Commission looks at the soft side of delivering services to the medical traveller. What really makes a difference in terms of patient satisfaction?
This is not an excuse, but an outcome of the interactions between physicians and the payers. "If its not documented its not done". The regulatory issues for documentation for coding and reimbursement and other regulatory and defensive medicine burdens have accelerated so much in the last several years that the time spent with patients is being stolen. Check out the scoop on the burden of regulation: http://sco.lt/4ks7iT Patients AND physicians would both be more satisfied with nmore time spent in direct interaction "at the bedside".
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Scooped by Seth Bilazarian, MD |
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The Digital Media Project at Harvard University tracks lawsuits filed against patients and others for online comments. Its website includes seven such cases filed over the past five years or so, though it’s not a comprehensive list. In some, patients took down their negative comments. In others, judges dismissed the suit, ruling that patients’ comments were protected under the First Amendment guarantee of free speech.
In one 2011 case, Dr. Aaron Filler, a neurosurgeon, sued a former patient in a Los Angeles court for posting negative comments about him on rating sites such as RateMDs.com, including that he posed an unusually high risk of death to patients. A judge dismissed Filler’s suit, deciding that the patient was exercising free speech on a public issue, and ordered the doctor to pay $50,000 in legal fees.
Doctors feel they are at a disadvantage in responding to negative reviews because medical privacy laws forbid them from discussing a patient’s care in public — a limitation that hotels, restaurants, and other often-rated businesses and professionals don’t face. They also worry that their explanations could be used against them in a malpractice suit — although a new Massachusetts law protects doctors’ apologies.
The strategy of suing patients for negative comments is generally not useful (the lawsuit raisies publicity about the negative comments) or successful. For physicians, having an online presence (#HCSM) that is established and demonstrates earnestness, competence and goodwill is a much better approach to the problem of unfair or untrue negative comments by patients.
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Scooped by Seth Bilazarian, MD |
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A series of videos designed to educate and empower patients about advance care planning and their choices for medical care. Video decision tools effectively communicate and inform patients about their options for care.
These videos are designed to shed light on the reality of aggressive end-of-life treatments, which are often portrayed on television as being more successful than they are.
This is a well done video about CPR and can help patients make advance planning decsions. The video does a good job introducing this complex subject and might help stuimulate a conversation between patients & their physicians . Many of my pateints choose a DNR (Do Not Recussitae) status because they believe that this will prevent the use of indefinite duration of life support if their medical circumstances are futile. These decisions are about whethtr tyo start these efforts not about when to stop them.
Most physicians and hospitals have a policy to NOT offer immediate, potentuially life saving angioplasty in the setting of a heart attack to patietns who have chosen to be DNR. See my blog http://www.theheart.org/columns/private-practice/treating-the-acute-mi-patient-with-stemi-and-labeled-dnr.do
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Scooped by Seth Bilazarian, MD |
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Chris Wilcox and Jeff Green of the Boson Celtics discuss their life threatening diagnosis (thoracic aortic aneurysm) and heart surgery at Cleveland Clinic.
Here's picture of Jeff Green hugging his surgeon Lars Svenson after buzzer beater over the Cavaliers 3/28/2013.
https://twitter.com/Ballislife/status/317621724109750272/photo/1
Open heart surgery recovery is a concern for all patients but for athletes performing at the highest level in the NBA the stress of high workload on the heart and the concern about injury to the central chest at the surgical site are significant. These athletes great story serves as encouragement for patients who need cardiac surgery and the potential for recovery. (Won't ensure you will be able to dunk).
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Scooped by Seth Bilazarian, MD |
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New research clarifies why music and exercise make such a good team, and how to create an optimal workout playlist
Selecting the most effective workout music is not as simple as queuing up a series of fast, high-energy songs. One should also consider the memories, emotions and associations that different songs evoke. For some people, the extent to which they identify with the singer's emotional state and viewpoint determines how motivated they feel. And, in some cases, the rhythms of the underlying melody may not be as important as the cadence of the lyrics. In recent years some researchers and companies have experimented with new ways to motivate exercisers through their ears, such as a smartphone app that guides the listener's escape from zombies in a postapocalyptic world and a device that selects songs based on a runner's heart rate
Best line forom article:
The human brain may have evolved with the expectation that, wherever there is music, there is movement...Maybe the brain remembers it that way.
I personally think the distraction is a big contributor to the benefit listening provides to getting through a workout. An audio-book serves this purpose and has no rhythm you can dance to.
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After reading this article, I have thought about changing my workout music to more motivatoinal music such as rap or hip-hop when lifting and then house music or fast pased music when running. This could help push me when I am tired after a workout and I need to run.
There are many times that I don't feel like working out on certain days because I have too much to get done before I go to bed or I'm just feeling drowsy and not in the mood. But I find that music often encourages me to keep exercising for at least over 30 minutes. Music distracts the mind from pain or fatigue, and elevates the mood to continue muscle exertion. This article dives into the reasons for why music makes us feel so good when working out and also suggests types of music to listen to in order to increase the amount of time spend working out and the force exerted as well. It suggests high energy songs, as well as songs that evoke memories, emotions, and associations with the song. For some people, when they can relate to the singer's lyrics and emotional state, it helps pump them up and increase workout efficiencies. When I work out, I usually just play any song with a pumping beat, and don't pay attention very much to its lyrics. But I often get tired of the same type of beat over and over. So now I will experiment with songs with lyrics that I can emotionally connect with, which may inspire me to workout faster and longer.In recent years some researchers and companies have experimented with new ways to motivate exercisers through their ears, such as a smartphone app that guides the listener's escape from zombies in a postapocalyptic world and a device that selects songs based on a runner's heart rate. Checking out these new devices and apps will encourage my workouts to be more fun to look forward to and efficient. This way, I won't procrastinate as much as I used to on working out and will find it as an entertaining escape from the rest of my events in my life.
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Scooped by Seth Bilazarian, MD |
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The impact of diet on specific age-related diseases has been studied extensively, but few investigations have adopted a more holistic approach to determine the association of diet with overall health at older ages. We examined whether diet, assessed in midlife, using dietary patterns and adherence to the Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI), is associated with aging phenotypes, identified after a mean 16-year follow-up.
MethodsData were drawn from the Whitehall II cohort study of 5350 adults (age 51.3±5.3 years, 29.4% women). Diet was assessed at baseline (1991-1993). Mortality, chronic diseases, and functioning were ascertained from hospital data, register linkage, and screenings every 5 years and were used to create 5 outcomes at follow-up: ideal aging (free of chronic conditions and high performance in physical, mental, and cognitive functioning tests; 4%), nonfatal cardiovascular event (7.3%), cardiovascular death (2.8%), noncardiovascular death (12.7%), and normal aging (73.2%).
ResultsLow adherence to the AHEI was associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular and noncardiovascular death. In addition, participants with a “Western-type” diet (characterized by high intakes of fried and sweet food, processed food and red meat, refined grains, and high-fat dairy products) had lower odds of ideal aging (odds ratio for top vs bottom tertile: 0.58; 95% confidence interval, 0.36-0.94; P=.02), independently of other health behaviors.
ConclusionsBy considering healthy aging as a composite of cardiovascular, metabolic, musculoskeletal, respiratory, mental, and cognitive function, the present study offers a new perspective on the impact of diet on aging phenotypes.
"Western-type” diet (characterized by high intakes of fried and sweet food, processed food and red meat, refined grains, and high-fat dairy products) has been attributed to many disease of older age. This study characterizes ideal aging as avoidance of these disease. The additional life style strategies of exercise and smoking are strongly associated with favorable aging but diet is an independent predictor. It makes common sense that the cumulative effect of daily diet over the middle third of life will have an impact on outcomes in the last third of life.
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Sharing a rare moment of person-to-person time during the scientific sessions in San Francisco, Dr Seth Bilazarian asks Drs Samuel Goldhaber how he goes about bridging with dabigatran, rivaroxaban, and apixaban.
All of the new blood thinners or novel oral anticoagulants (NOAC) have a warning in their label about the hazard of stopping them. These agents have a short half life so within 1 - 2 days they are out of the system and there is no blood thinner protection from the hazard of atrial fibrillation (AF). Should patients going for procedures receive "bridging" with intravenous (IV) blood thinners to protect them during the interval off these new agents. Perspective from Sam Goldhaber of the Clot Blog on theheart.org.
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The news was less disappointing for aerobic exercise, with 51.6% of adults getting the recommended amount, than it was for muscle-strengthening activities, with only 29.3% getting the recommended amount.
The overall exercise rates also varied widely by state, ranging from 13% in Tennessee and West Virginia to 27% in Colorado.
The report was published in the May 3 issue of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, a CDC publication.
"Exercise not only helps with weight management, it helps reduce anxiety and depression; boosts energy, immunity and brain power; and significantly lowers the risk for chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular disease," she said.
According to the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, adults should get at least:
=> two and a half hours a week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity such as walkin
=> or an hour and 15 minutes a week of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity, such as jogging.
In addition, adults should do muscle-strengthening activities, such as push-ups, sit-ups or activities using resistance bands or weights. These exercises should be done two or more days a week and work all major muscle groups, the guidelines suggested.
The highest proportion of adults meeting those guidelines were in the West (24 percent) and the Northeast (21 percent). Women, Hispanics and older and obese adults were less likely to meet the guidelines
"Simple steps to start moving include: enlisting a friend or family member to join you; taking a walk every evening after dinner; getting up and marching in place at every TV commercial; limiting TV and computer time; [and] scheduling your time to exercise in your daily calendar,
The authors put a positive spin on this report but half of Americans are not exercising even at these modest recommendation levels (75 minutes of vigorous exercise per week). The muscle strengthening data is even worse: 80% of Americans are not doing it.
I actually thought the numbers were higher for those non- exercisers. Tis a pity- I can't imagine life without training..
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Just half of primary-care patients with hypercholesterolemia received recommended thyroid-function screening, a new retrospective study has found.
Hypothyroidism is an important secondary cause of elevated total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol. In overt hypothyroidism cases, thyroid hormone replacement treatment often normalizes the cholesterol levels. For that reason, guidelines from the AACE, American Thyroid Association, and National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) recommend testing for hypothyroidism.
Dr. Willard's study was designed to determine the rate of adherence to the guidelines by primary-care physicians. "The 50% rate of screening is a bit surprising. Although guidelines from the NCEP and [American College of Physicians] ACP state that thyroid dysfunction is [included in the] differential [diagnosis] for new-onset dyslipidemia, the practice of screening in standard clinical practice seems to often be overlooked."
Of the total 4349 patients who had TSH levels screened, 151 had TSH levels greater than 5 mIU/L and 74 had TSH levels over 10 mIU/L. Of these 225 patients (with TSH levels >5), 50.7% received levothyroxine treatment, Of those 114 patients treated with levothyroxine, 75.4% did not receive a lipid-lowering agent within 1 year, possibly because correction of their hypothyroidism resulted in improvement of their lipid panel and correction of the dyslipidemia.
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Scooped by Seth Bilazarian, MD |
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A stroke, sometimes called a “brain attack,” occurs when blood flow to the brain is interrupted. When a stroke occurs, brain cells in the immediate area begin to die because they stop getting the oxygen and nutrients they need to function.What are the symptoms of a stroke?—
The symptoms of stroke are distinctive because they happen quickly—thus the origin of the name "stroke."
Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm, or leg (especially on one side of the body)Sudden confusion, trouble speaking, or understanding speechSudden trouble seeing in one or both eyesSudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordinationSudden severe headache with no known causeGood basic information from NIH MedlinePlus magazine everyone should know (called AHA "give me 5"). Knowing these stroke symptoms and seeking early treatment can be life saving. Faster treatment reduces the likelihood and severity of disability after stroke.
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Sharing a rare moment of person-to-person time during the scientific sessions in San Francisco, Dr Seth Bilazarian asks Dr. Samuel Goldhaber how he goes about bridging with "Novel oral anticoagulants" (NOACs) #dabigatran, #rivaroxaban, and #apixaban.
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Some says social smoking can be good. This is Ontario Ministry of Health answer. A farting one! WeWantAds shows you the most funny, creative and sexy ads all...
Occasional social smoking is smoking.
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Scooped by Seth Bilazarian, MD |
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Data provided by UpToDate, one of the most popular tools used by Physicians, shows Apple dominating the Physician market when compared to Android.
Dr. Denise Basow, President of UpToDate, responded to my questions with some of the following data:
There are over 700,000 clinicians using UpToDate worldwide.25% of the usage of UpToDate is on mobile devices.At the end of 2012, there were over 75,000 iOS users and over 10,000 Android users.When using the UpToDate mobile app, 90% of the access is from iOS and 10% is from Android.I did the Blackberry vs. iPhone randomized trial early in the iPhone experience (n=1) and concluded that iPhone clearly had ease of use and screen clarity benefits. The Android is clearly superior to the Blackberry but the first mover advantage iPhone has with physician apps will be hard to supplant for Android. Check out my Vlog on the smartphone comparison: http://www.theheart.org/columns/private-practice/headtohead-rct-blackberry-vs-iphone-for-your-cardiology-practice.do?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%253A+private-practice+%2528Private+Practice%2529 ;
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Walnuts are rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids and have been shown to improve various cardiometabolic risk factors.This trial investigated association between walnut intake & type 2 diabetes in the Nurses’ Health Study which followed 58,063 women aged 52–77 years old from 1998–2008 and
79,893 women aged 35–52 y in NHS II (1999–2009) without diabetes, cardiovascular disease, or cancer at baseline.
Consumption of walnuts and other nuts was assessed every 4 years using food questionnaires. A total of 5930 new type 2 diabetes cases during 10 y of follow-up were detetected. Walnut consumption was associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes for participants consuming 1–3 servings/mo (1 serving = 28 g), 1 serving/wk, and >2 servings/wk of walnuts: were 0.93, 0.81 and 0.67 compared with women who never/rarely consumed walnuts. Further adjustment for updated BMI slightly attenuated the association and the HRs were 0.96, 0.87 & 0.76 , respectively.
The consumption of total nuts and other tree nuts was also inversely associated with risk of type 2 diabetes, and the associations were largely explained by BMI. Our results suggest that higher walnut consumption is associated with a significantly lower risk of type 2 diabetes in women.
These results suggest higher walnut consumption is associated with a significantly lower risk of type 2 diabetes in women. Walnuts are rich in healthy fatty acids which have been shown to reduce inflammation in the body and protect against heart disease, cancer and arthritis. Whether walnuts stand alone among tree nuts is uncertain (peanuts are NOT tree nuts). Practically the benefits from walnuts may be form the appetite filling aspects of eating nuts as a snack and the avoidance of less healthy snacks that are nutritionally poor options because of the high calories and salt intake (like chips).
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Subway's menu fared best in a new evaluation of nutrition in kids' meals
Nine restaurants, including McDonald’s (MCD), Carl’s Jr., and Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen (AFCE), had zero options that met standards.
“Restaurants just aren’t making significant changes to the kids menu yet.” Many meals come with soda or deep fried foods.
Subway, which already markets itself as a diet-friendly chain, emerged as the winner: All of its kids’ meals met both CSPI and NRA standards. Other chains that fared above average: IHOP (DIN), Red Lobster (DRI),Burger King (BKW), Arby’s, Chick-fil-A, Denny’s (DENN), Bob Evans (BOBE), and LongHorn Steakhouse (DRI).
Of the 50 chains, Olive Garden (DRI) had the greatest number of possible kids’ meal combinations, with a whopping 780, including different variations of pastas, sauces, toppings, and sides. About 1 percent of these, or 10 different meal combos met CSPI standards.
Apple slices do not a healthy kids’ meal make, especially if they come with fried chicken and a soda. In an analysis of children’s meals at 50 large chain restaurants, the Center for Science in the Public Interest found that 97 percent of the possible kids’ meal combos failed to meet its nutrition standards for children’s meals;
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Spring is around the corner and so will be a new crop of fad diets eager to help you get into shape. Be on the lookout for a return of these repackaged crazy f
FIve diets that have no research support and make little common sense but have had significant popularity. Eat what you enjoy, but stay lean: avoid what you don't love and continually reasses what you can do without.
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Lawrence General Hospital cardiac catheterization laboratory today achieved Accreditation for Cardiovascular Excellence for catheterization and PCI (angioplasty and stenting). The first in New England.
• ACE accreditation is a professional review of an organization’s structure, internal processes, patient safety practices, and clinical outcomes to determine if it meets the standards established by experts in cardiac and endovascular care.
• ACE is sponsored by The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions and American College of Cardiology, the two leading professional cardiovascular organizations, jointly representing over 40,000 practitioners.
• The extensive consultative and educational Accreditation recognizes committment to providing high quality care for patients. With ACE certification patients and providers in the community served can be certian that the catheterizatuion laboratory is meeting or exceeding the standards set by experts in cardiac and endovascular care.
Lawrence Genral is committed to achieving the highest standards.
ACE accreditation/CQI also
provides a standard of care for patients comparing one facility to anothercertifies to insurers that beneficiaries are getting the best possible care provides independent, unbiased, outcome-based evidence to patients & families that they are receiving the highest quality carevalidates LGH's position, voice, and influence in government policy-making circlesreduces costs by supporting a more effective and efficient operation based on uniform standardsminimizes complications, which in turn benefits payors, patients, and society by reducing costs.Congratulations to the administration, physicians, nurses, techs and staff at Lawrence General Hospital for achieving this first in the region accreditation for the cardiac catheterization laboratory. The larger impact is that this recognizes the excellent quality of care patients recieve for treatment of cardiac conditions and coroanary artery disease.
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