High rates of re-hospitalization and pharmaceutical expenses for patients with atrial fibrillation are burdening the U.S. healthcare system, according to two studies presented at the American Heart Association's (AHA) 10th Scientific Forum on Quality of Care and Outcomes Research in Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke held last week in Washington, D.C.

Over the next 20 years, the number of new cancer cases diagnosed annually in the United States will increase by 45 percent, from 1.6 million in 2010 to 2.3 million in 2030, with a dramatic spike in incidence predicted in the elderly and minority populations, according to a study published April 29 in Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Ion Beam Applications (IBA) has received FDA clearance for a new robotic patient positioning system for proton therapy.

While sustained excellence in cardiac care is rare, hospitals that excel in all three major areas of cardiac care--acute MI (AMI), PCI and CABG--have more cardiac patient admissions and lower average risk-adjusted mortality rates, according to a study presented at the American Heart Association's (AHA) 10th Scientific Forum on Quality of Care and Outcomes Research in Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke.

Adding surgical ventricular reconstruction to coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) reduced the left ventricular volume, compared with CABG alone. However, the combination did not result in improved symptoms or exercise tolerance, or reduced deaths or hospitalizations, according to the STITCH trial published in the April 23 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Despite initial challenges recruiting staff and maintaining service volume and patient referrals, general hospitals were generally able to respond to the initial entry of specialty hospitals with few, if any, changes in the provision of care for financially vulnerable patients, according to a new study by the Center for Studying Health System Change.

The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Monday published its definitions of meaningful use' and 'certified EHR technologies,' as outlined in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, in a letter to the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) of Health IT and the Acting CMS Commissioner, within the Department of Health and Human Services.

Researchers have found that insurance coverage may not only affect a patient's access to healthcare, but also the quality of care they receive, which may have implications for the U.S. debate on healthcare reform, according to findings presented April 25 at the American Urological Association's (AUA) annual meeting in Chicago.