Vizient examines growing disease prevalence and technical innovation in atrial fibrillation detection
Vizient, Inc. has released a report examining the growing prevalence of heart rhythm disorders and new technology to monitor and treat them. The latest edition of Medical Device Tech Watch offers current and future treatment options for these disorders as well as best practices for interventional procedural areas in cardiology.
The report includes articles with in-depth insights on wearable cardiac devices, best-in-class interventional suites and the latest computer assisted spine surgery technologies:
- Increasing disease prevalence and technical innovation drives advancements in atrial fibrillation detection and treatment - There are nearly six million Americans living with atrial fibrillation, and because it’s associated with common comorbidities such as hypertension, heart failure, diabetes and obesity, that number is expected to grow. As the use of wearable devices such as watches and electrocardiogram (ECG) patches, and longer lasting implantable loop recorders also grows, the ability to identify intermittent rhythm abnormalities earlier in their disease progression increases. More patients may move towards a treatment plan that includes risk factor modifications such as weight loss and cardiopulmonary fitness, medications, and procedures like intracardiac catheter ablations.
- Efficiency gained through best practices for interventional procedural areas - Ensuring clinical quality outcomes while maximizing operational efficiencies is the hallmark of a best-in-class interventional suite. A recent analysis of Vizient member data reviewed case workflows from pre- to post-interventional procedure and identified not only best practices in patient prep and staffing, but cost-saving opportunities of nearly $160,000 annually by improving start times for the first case of the day and turnaround times in between procedures.
- Navigating the computer assisted spine surgery landscape - Spine surgeries may be performed with electronic devices such as advanced imaging, navigation and robotic systems. With the first implementation of computer assisted spine surgeries (CASS) in the 1990s, many devices now have decades of utilization data, and like most technologies, these electronic devices are continually evolving to deliver greater precision, improved efficiency and better clinical outcomes.
This article provides an overview of CASS technologies, including adoption considerations from capital equipment and service agreements to technician fees and reimbursement. It also offers site-of-care shift projections for spine surgeries and how it varies by procedure.