NEW ORLEANS – The Apple Heart study has accumulated data from more than 400,000 participants in its evaluation of the ability of an algorithm to detect abnormalities that may be indicative of atrial fibrillation (AF), although the enrollment came up short of the target of half a million users. Nonetheless, Mintu Turakhia, a cardiologist at Stanford, Calif.-based Stanford University, said that while the study has some significant limitations, "we now have a footprint for evaluating technology such as this, and how to do this in an appropriate and scalable way."
CLEVELAND – How are telemedicine and wearable technologies changing health care and how physicians see patients? That question was the focus of a panel that examined how such emerging technology can play a role in improving primary care. The panel took place during the Cleveland Clinic's 2018 Medical Innovation Summit and was part of the a series of discussions on how technologies, including digital health, are disrupting health care.
The draft Medicare physician fee schedule (MPFS) is always an event for makers of drugs and devices, and this year is no exception. This time, the draft proposes non-controversially to formalize the specialty practice of heart failure and transplant cardiology, a move that was anticipated. While telehealth would enjoy a renewal of momentum under the terms of the draft, novel oncology drugs would be reimbursed at the wholesale acquisition cost plus 1.35 percent, a considerable shave from the current standard of WAC+6.
Medicare coverage of telehealth, which is critical for many patients with implanted cardiac electrophysiology devices, has been slow in coming, but a new report on Medicare payments for telehealth recommends that the CMS review paid claims to claw back some instances of overpayment, which would constitute yet another example of the pay-and-chase paradigm that has drawn criticism in the past.