LAS VEGAS—For the first time in more than a decade, staffing shortages overtook concerns over lack of adequate financial support as the No. 1 barrier to implementing IT in this year’s 23rd annual Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) leadership survey. The results, released Feb. 21 at HIMSS12, include the input of 302 healthcare IT professionals who represent more than 600 U.S. hospitals.
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Every second counts—at least in emergency medicine. This year, HealthGrades has reported 263 hospitals performed in the top 5 percent nationwide in terms of superior emergency care.
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The FDA is notifying healthcare professionals, and in particular, the medical imaging community, about the planned return of CardioGen-82 to the U.S. market following the voluntary recall by the manufacturer, Bracco Diagnostics, on July 25, 2011. The agency has approved revised labeling for CardioGen-82 to include a boxed warning and enhanced testing information to help minimize the risk for exposure to unintended levels of strontium radiation.
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Pediatric CT utilization in the emergency department peaked in 2008, and dropped from 2008 to 2010, according to a study published online Feb. 13 in Pediatrics. Researchers suggested that the decline may be related to increased awareness of radiation risks.
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Heart failure (HF) places a huge burden on the U.S. healthcare system, with hospital readmissions contributing to a large portion of costs. Disease management through HF home monitoring offers one possible way to detect clinical declines early and intervene before patients further deteriorate. But does it improve outcomes? In recognition of National Heart Failure Awareness Week, Feb. 12-18, two physicians debate that point in the Feb. 14 issue of Circulation.
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