WEEKLY NEWS BRIEFS FOR HOSPITALISTS |
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CAD
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1. Anatomic CT fails to improve CAD outcomes
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Screening patients who present with chest pain may give physicians and patients alike peace of mind, but it doesn’t appear to offer any benefit in terms of mortality. According to results of the PROMISE study published online by the New England Journal of Medicine, using anatomic CT (CTA) to screen patients with suspected stable coronary artery disease didn’t offer any better outcomes than functional testing, but it did increase overall exposure to radiation. Researchers also found, however, that CTA patients had a lower median per-patient radiation exposure, in part because so many functional testing patients underwent nuclear stress testing, which carries a high burden of radiation exposure. Read more in MedPage Today. |
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OBSERVATION STATUS
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2. Hospitals want “two-midnight rule” delay extended
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Hospitals are pushing the federal government to extend the moratorium on enforcing the two-midnight rule. While hospitals say the rule undermines their physicians’ clinical decision-making, contractors who audit hospital documentation are pushing for the moratorium on enforcement to be ended, noting that revenue from hospital audits has reached an all-time low. Medicare is expected to issue proposed payment rules next month that would take effect in fiscal year 2016, which begins Oct. 1. Hospitals are asking that the moratorium against enforcing the two-midnight rule be extended until at least Oct. 1 to give Medicare time to clarify its policy on the enforcement of the two-midnight rule. The current moratorium was created last year when Congress included the delay in legislation that put off cuts to Medicare pay for physicians as part of the sustainable growth-rate formula. Read more in Modern Healthcare.
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HOSPITAL-ACQUIRED INFECTIONS
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3. CDC: MRSA rates fell 54% between 2005 and 2011
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New data from the CDC show that hospital-acquired MRSA infections declined by 54% between 2005 and 2011, resulting in 30,800 fewer severe cases of the infection and 9,000 fewer deaths. According to CDC data, 33% of people carry staph infections, but only 2% are infected with MRSA. Experts say that improved hand-hygiene practices and antibiotic stewardship programs are behind the drop in rates of hospital-acquired MRSA. Read more in Becker’s Infection Control & Clinical Quality.
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| DEMENTIA |
| 4. Seniors taking antipsychotics face earlier death risk |
| Antipsychotic drugs may be more harmful for dementia patients than previously believed. Data published in JAMA Psychiatry found that older veterans who took the drugs were more likely to die early, with the risk of early death increasing with the dose of antipsychotics. The study’s lead author speculated that physicians continue to give the drugs to elderly dementia patients despite their known side effects because these patients face such distressing symptoms. Researchers also found that drugs like valproic acid produced a similar risk of death. While researchers found that patients taking antidepressants faced a lower mortality risk than patients taking antipsychotics or valproic acid, the study found that patients taking antidepressants still faced a higher mortality risk than patients not taking any medications for their dementia. Federal data show that one-third of seniors with dementia who had long-term nursing home stays in 2012 were taking antipsychotics. Read more on WebMD. |
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MARITAL RELATIONS
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5. U.S. physicians post lower divorce rates than other professionals
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How common is divorce among physicians? A retrospective study of nearly 50,000 U.S. physicians published in the British Medical Journal found that with a 24% divorce rate, physicians are more likely to be divorced than pharmacists (23%), but less likely to be divorced than nurses (33%), health care executives (31%), attorneys (27%) and professionals working outside of health care (35%). The news was not so good for female physicians, however, who were more likely to be divorced than their male colleagues. And while female physicians who worked 40-49 hours a week were more likely to be divorced, male physicians working those same hours were less likely to be divorced. Read more in NEJM Journal Watch.
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OKLAHOMA: Medical Director opportunity
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