The
Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday continued its year-long
review of issues in health care reform in the first of three
September hearings. The hearing focused on improving health
care quality and examined the importance of measuring and
improving the quality of care provided to patients in all
settings. It also examined quality improvement initiatives
in the private sector. The two health care reform hearings
remaining for this month will be held on Sept. 16 and Sept.
23. These hearings will discuss delivery system reform and
insurance market reform, and will be developed in consultation
with committee ranking member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa).
In related news, the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on
Health will .hold a hearing on reforming Medicare’s
physician payment system on Sept. 11. The hearing will address
ways of reforming the current fee schedule so that physicians
are encouraged to furnish the appropriate amount of care while
also improving the quality of care. Particular attention will
be paid to reforms that Congress can consider prior to January
2010.
REGULATORY
AND PAYER
ACC
Comments on Proposed OPPS Rule
The
ACC recently submitted comments to acting Centers for Medicare
& Medicaid Services’ Administrator Kerry Weems addressing
proposed changes to the Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment
System. The letter addresses proposed changes in the following
areas: composite APCs; diagnostic and therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals;
intravascular ultrasound and intracardiac echocardiography;
diagnostic myocardial positron emission tomography; fetal
echocardiography; insertion/replacement of pacemaker leads
and/or electrodes; nonstandard cost centers for cardiac rehabilitation
services; hospital-acquired conditions; and quality reporting
requirements. To view the letter in full, click
here.
ACC,
Others Comment on Proposed Coverage Decision for CAS
The
ACC and several other specialty groups recently submitted
a comment letter responding to a Centers for Medicare &
Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed decision memorandum that
denied a request for an expansion of coverage for carotid
artery stenting (CAS) in patients at high risk for surgery
due to anatomic factors. The letter urges CMS to review the
data carefully and to recognize that published studies demonstrate
the safety and efficacy of CAS as a viable therapeutic option.
Allowing access to this technology for an important subset
of Medicare patients is critical to their receiving optimal
care. Click
here to view the letter.
FDA
News Updates
The
Food & Drug Administration (FDA) last week approved a
software update, called Lead Integrity Alert, from Medtronic
that will help detect fractures of the company’s Sprint
Fidelis cardiac defibrillator lead by alerting both patients
and physicians of a potential lead fracture. The company hopes
the alerts will enable early intervention and lower the risk
of serious complications. The lead was the subject of an October
2007 recall because it was prone to fracture in a small number
of patients, potentially causing the lead to deliver unnecessary
shocks or not operate at all. More information about the approval
is available on FDA’s Web site here.
FDA recently
approved a new mitral heart valve manufactured by Edwards
Lifesciences Corp., called the Carpentier-Edwards Perimount
Magna. The valve, which is inserted through open heart surgery,
features a low profile that assists in reducing the risk of
damaging another valve or the heart wall, according to the
company. For more information, view the Edwards Lifesciences
Web site here.
FDA last
week approved a peripheral atherectomy catheter called Jetstream™
designed for use in the treatment of peripheral arterial disease
(PAD) and manufactured by Pathway Medical Technologies, Inc.
The device is capable of treating hard and soft plaque, calcium,
thrombus and fibrotic lesions with consistent clinical results.
It consists of a sterile, single-use catheter and control
pod and a reusable, compact console that mounts to a standard
IV stand. For more information, see the company’s new
release here.
QUALITY
Participate
in an Online Survey on 2007 PQRI
Did
you participate in the 2007 Physician Quality Reporting Initiative
(PQRI)? If so, the American Medical Association (AMA) needs
your help! Please respond to this brief,
confidential online survey, which will take only 10-15
minutes of your time. Information gathered from the survey
process will allow the AMA and other medical specialty and
state organizations to effectively advocate for changes in
the PQRI. Complete the survey by clicking
here.
From
The Lewin Report: e-Barriers to Prescribing
I
participated in a meeting this week with the co-CEOs of the
newly merged RxHub and SureScripts, the two large PBM-based
prescribing data companies, about promoting e-prescribing.
This merger will turn out to be a good thing — the combined
company has over 80 percent of the prescribing data in the
private sector. But the meeting reflected the current difficulties
and barriers that prevent moving forward on improving adherence
and prescribing safety and efficiency. Frustrating data interface
glitches still plague the environment.
So, if you get e-Rx software and systems, you can e-prescribe.
That’s great. It is helpful and more efficient. But,
if you also expected to be able to get medication history
on the patient in front of you to see what they are currently
taking, that’s not going to be so easy if they’re
not in your EMR system already and exclusively. Read more
from Jack’s blog and comment at http://LewinReport.acc.org.
