Comparison of Rate of Utilization of Medicare Services in Private Versus Academic Cardiology Practice.

Cardiovascular services are the third largest source of Medicare spending. We examined the rate of cardiovascular service utilization in the community of Glendale, CA, compared with the nearest academic medical center, the University of Southern California. Publicly available utilization data released by Medicare for the years 2012 and 2013 were used to identify all inpatient and outpatient cardiology services provided in each practice setting. The analysis included 19 private and 17 academic cardiologists. In unadjusted analysis, academic physicians performed half as many services per Medicare beneficiary per year as those in private practice: 2.3 versus 4.8, p <0.001. Other factors associated with higher utilization included male physician, international (vs US) medical school graduate, interventional (vs general) cardiologist, and more years in practice. Factors independently associated with higher utilization rates by multivariable analysis included private practice setting (odds ratio [OR] 1.84, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.30 to 2.61, p <0.001), male physician (OR 1.64, 95% CI 1.00 to 2.67, p = 0.049), and international medical school graduate (OR 1.37, 95% CI 1.07 to 1.78, p = 0.014). In conclusion, in this analysis of 2 cardiology practice settings in southern California, medical service utilization per Medicare beneficiary was nearly 2-fold higher in private practice than in the academic setting, suggesting that there may be opportunity for substantially reducing costs of cardiology care in the community setting.

Confidential testing of cardiac examination competency in cardiology and noncardiology faculty and trainees: a multicenter study.

BACKGROUND: Many reported studies of medical trainees and physicians have demonstrated major deficiencies in correctly identifying heart sounds and murmurs, but cardiologists had not been tested. We previously confirmed these deficiencies using a 50-question multimedia cardiac examination (CE) test featuring video vignettes of patients with auscultatory and visible manifestations of cardiovascular pathology (virtual cardiac patients). Previous testing of 62 internal medical faculty yielded scores no better than those of medical students and residents. HYPOTHESIS: In this study, we tested whether cardiologists outperformed other physicians in cardiac examination skills, and whether years in practice correlated with test performance. METHODS: To obviate cardiologists' reluctance to be tested, the CE test was installed at 19 US teaching centers for confidential testing. Test scores and demographic data (training level, subspecialty, and years in practice) were uploaded to a secure database. RESULTS: The 520 tests revealed mean scores (out of 100 ± 95% confidence interval) in descending order: 10 cardiology volunteer faculty (86.3 ± 8.0), 57 full-time cardiologists (82.0 ± 3.3), 4 private-practice cardiologists (77.0 ± 6.8), and 19 noncardiology faculty (67.3 ± 8.8). Trainees' scores in descending order: 150 cardiology fellows (77.3 ± 2.1), 78 medical students (63.7 ± 3.5), 95 internal medicine residents (62.7 ± 3.2), and 107 family medicine residents (59.2 ± 3.2). Faculty scores were higher in those trained earlier with longer practice experience. CONCLUSIONS: Academic and volunteer cardiologists outperformed other medical faculty, as did cardiology fellows. Lower scores were observed in more recently trained faculty. Remote testing yielded scores similar to proctored tests in comparable groups previously studied. No significant improvement was seen after medical school with residency training.

Developing pulmonary vasculopathy in systemic sclerosis, detected with non-invasive cardiopulmonary exercise testing.

BACKGROUND: Patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) may develop exercise intolerance due to musculoskeletal involvement, restrictive lung disease, left ventricular dysfunction, or pulmonary vasculopathy (PV). The latter is particularly important since it may lead to lethal pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). We hypothesized that abnormalities during cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) in patients with SSc can identify PV leading to overt PAH. METHODS: Thirty SSc patients from the Harbor-UCLA Rheumatology clinic, not clinically suspected of having significant pulmonary vascular disease, were referred for this prospective study. Resting pulmonary function and exercise gas exchange were assessed, including peakVO2, anaerobic threshold (AT), heart rate-VO2 relationship (O2-pulse), exercise breathing reserve and parameters of ventilation-perfusion mismatching, as evidenced by elevated ventilatory equivalent for CO2 (VE/VCO2) and reduced end-tidal pCO2 (PETCO2) at the AT. RESULTS: Gas exchange patterns were abnormal in 16 pts with specific cardiopulmonary disease physiology: Eleven patients had findings consistent with PV, while five had findings consistent with left-ventricular dysfunction (LVD). Although both groups had low peak VO2 and AT, a higher VE/VCO2 at AT and decreasing PETCO2 during early exercise distinguished PV from LVD. CONCLUSIONS: Previously undiagnosed exercise impairments due to LVD or PV were common in our SSc patients. Cardiopulmonary exercise testing may help to differentiate and detect these disorders early in patients with SSc.

Outcomes of acute myocardial infarction in nonagenarians.

To evaluate survival after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in nonagenarians, we conducted a retrospective chart review of 177 consecutive patients > or =90 years of age admitted from 2000 to 2006 with a primary diagnosis of AMI confirmed by peak troponin I > or =1.5 microg/L. Mean follow-up was 3.7 years (range 4 months to 6.7 years). Mean age was 93 years, 34% were men, and 60% were Caucasian. Common co-morbidities included hypertension (67%), dyslipidemia (28%), atrial fibrillation (28%), renal insufficiency (27%), dementia (23%), and previous cerebrovascular events (22%). Mean peak troponin was 20 mug/L (range 1.5 to 183 microg/L). Cardiac catheterization was performed within 48 hours in 42 patients (24%) and after 48 hours in 14 patients (8%); 40 patients (23%) received an intervention. Hospital mortality was 15% (n = 27). Survival at 30 days, 90 days, and 1 year were 78%, 69%, and 47%. Independent predictors of shorter survival time by Cox analysis included body mass index <25 kg/m2 (p <0.001), creatinine > or =2.0 mg/dl (p = 0.001), hemoglobin <11.0 g/dl (p = 0.016), and dementia (p = 0.027). Patients receiving aspirin, clopidogrel, beta blockers, and renin-angiotensin system inhibitors appeared to have a lower mortality. In conclusion, AMI in nonagenarians is associated with high mortality, with over 50% of patients dying within one year of presentation; elevated creatinine and lower hemoglobin are strong predictors of adverse prognosis, and lower body mass index and the presence of dementia add independent prognostic significance.