Eli Dresner’s Post

Pivotal Insight Series: Evaluating Cardiology Demand, by Market, Across the US One of our core principals at Pivotal Analytics is that data MUST be tailored to local markets, offering a true sense of how care is demanded and received for a target population. We see far too many decision makers utilizing information based on nationalized benchmarks, unable to capture the specific needs of a target population. In Pivotal, we observe large variance in the demand for care, by service, across the country - if you're not using local use rates driven by claims data there's no way to accurately estimate demand for care in a market. Whether it's the rate of knee replacements in San Diego vs. Syracuse or the rate of childbirth in Austin vs. Atlanta, understanding local demand for care is absolutely critical to how all planners should be thinking about addressing opportunities in their markets. Today, we're taking a dive into Cardiology to highlight use rates for care and how they differ in markets across the country. In the attached infographic you'll see the markets where Cardiology, on a per capita basis, is most well utilized/most in demand. For questions on the data, or to see insight on markets not captured in the infographic, reach out to Brian Michels, MBA Over the past several years we've seen an uptick in demand for Cardiology and only expect that continue moving forward. The U.S. population is aging, with a significant proportion of individuals entering age groups that are more susceptible to cardiovascular diseases. As people age, the risk of developing conditions such as coronary artery disease, heart failure, and atrial fibrillation increases, leading to greater demand for cardiology services. There is also a high prevalence of chronic conditions that are risk factors for cardiovascular diseases, such as obesity, diabetes, and hypertension. The increasing rates of these conditions contribute directly to higher demand for cardiology services. We're also seeing innovations in diagnostic and therapeutic technologies, such as advanced imaging techniques, minimally invasive procedures, and new medications - these advancements often lead to increased use of cardiology services as patients seek the latest treatments. #HealthcareStrategy #HealthcareBI #HealthcareInsights #HealthcareMetrics #HealthcareData #HealthcareAnalytics #DataAnalytics #BusinessIntelligence #DataDrivenHealthcare #HealthcareTrends #HealthcareROI

This is such powerful data to be able to assess demand for Cardiology services at the local level rather than use national benchmarks. We all know that cardiac care demand is not the same in all markets across the United States.

Where and how you sit matters when getting blood pressure taken at the doctor's office. Millions of people with normal blood pressure may be misclassified as having blood pressure that is too high because of improper positioning when measurements are taken, new research suggests. American Heart Association News. Published: November 9, 2023. Reported: Guidelines from American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology call for a patient to be seated in a chair with feet flat on the floor, their back supported and the arm wearing the blood pressure cuff supported at heart level. Doing so helps ensure an accurate reading. Many health care professionals take blood pressure measurements while the patient is seated on an examining table, leaving their legs to dangle and their back and arm unsupported. "That's not conducive to taking blood pressure accurately," said researcher Dr. Randy Wexler, a primary care physician at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus. He will present research on Saturday at the AHA's Scientific Sessions conference in Philadelphia. Being misclassified with high blood pressure, also called hypertension, can lead to "people undergoing treatment who don't need it," Wexler said. "People may not need to be on as much medication, which has side effects. Good and accurate blood pressure measurements become important." In the study, 150 adults were randomly assigned to one of three groups. In one group, blood pressure readings were taken on a fixed-height exam table and then in an exam chair with adjustable positioning. A second group had the same readings taken in reverse order. A third group had both sets of readings taken in the exam chair. There was a rest period before each set of readings. Results were pooled and the average of three measurements taken on the table were compared to the average of those taken in the chair. #Note: For readings taken on the exam table, the average systolic (top number) blood pressure was 7 mmHg higher and the average diastolic (bottom number) reading was 4.5 mmHg higher than those taken seated in the chair, adhering to guideline-recommended positioning. The researchers concluded this difference was large enough to misclassify millions of people as having hypertension whose blood pressure was actually within the normal range. "We were not surprised there was a difference," Wexler said. "We were surprised at how much of a difference there was." The findings were published in the journal eClinical Medicine. Publication: The Lancet | eClinical Medicine. September 14, 2023 Comparison of outcomes for routine versus American Heart Association-recommended technique for blood pressure measurement (CORRECT BP): a randomized cohort study. https://lnkd.in/en5GA2Wk https://lnkd.in/emgZeaXa

Exciting news! A recent study published in the Journal of American College of Cardiology (JACC): HEART FAILURE journal, Volume 12, Issue 2, 2024, evaluates the impact of digital technology on the quality of life (QoL) in patients with heart failure. The study, conducted by Adriano Garcez BSc, MSc, MBA and a cohort of authors, aimed to evaluate the effect of three digital technologies on QoL in patients with heart failure. The primary outcome measure was the 90-day change in QoL, as assessed by the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ) Overall Summary Score (OSS). The study, a randomized controlled trial, assigned 182 patients to either usual care or one of the digital interventions (Bodyport, Conversa, and Noom). The findings suggest that digital health technology can positively impact the QoL of patients with heart failure. Interested in learning more? Check out the study here: https://lnkd.in/eY69DQ6Q

Nearing the end of the American Heart Month, I cannot help but notice the contrast between the two recent back-to-back cases in the same week (figures below). 👨 Patient A - a 55 year old male presenting with exertional chest pain & NSTEMI. Found to have a total occlusion of RCA and underwent successful PCI including aspiration atherectomy revealing a large clot burden and stent placement. 👩 Patient B - a 35 year old female presenting with chest pain at rest & NSTEMI. Found to have severe vasospasm of L. circumflex that responded with intracoronary nitroglycerin and otherwise normal-appearing coronary arteries. No need for mechanical revascularization, of course. Just one example, among many, to illustrate the deep and wide spectrum of gender differences in #cardiovasculardisease (CVD). While CVD is the leading cause of death in both men and women, we still don’t have adequate understanding of why a disproportionately higher % of women are affected by: - Stress cardiomyopathy - SCAD (spontaneous coronary artery dissection) - Coronary microvascular disease - INOCA (ischemia with nonobstructive coronary arteries) - MINOCA (myocardial infarction with nonobstructive coronary arteries) - HFpEF (Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction) - Rheumatic heart disease - POTS (paroxysmal orthostatic tachycardia syndrome) just to name a few... The mortality due to CVD is continuing to increase for both men and women. Yet, less than half the women surveyed correctly identified CVD as the leading cause of death in women. This is ~20 % less women who had the correct response, compared to 10 years ago. So, lot’s work to do. ✔ Let’s intensify our efforts to get the word out to the communities and health care professionals. ✔ Let’s continue to support and do research to gain understanding of mechanisms behind important gender differences in CVD. ✔ Let’s practice medicine with a comprehensive yet personalized approach to the patient, keeping up with the updates of modern day medicine while acknowledging their limitations. Pranav M. Patel, MD Ailin Barseghian El-Farra, MD https://lnkd.in/e_b-qeBY UCI Cardiology UCI School of Medicine UCI Health Physicians UCI Health

How might digital technology impact quality of life for people with chronic conditions? My colleague, Adriano Garcez BSc, MSc, MBA and his cohort of authors has recently published "Impact of Digital Health Technology on Quality of Life in Patients With Heart Failure" in the Journal of American College of Cardiology (JACC): HEART FAILURE journal, Volume 12, Issue 2, 2024. The study aimed to evaluate the effect of three digital technologies (Bodyport, Conversa, and Noom) on the quality of life (QoL) in patients with heart failure. Through a randomized controlled trial, a total of 182 patients were assigned to either usual care or one of the digital interventions. The primary outcome measure was the 90-day change in QoL, as assessed by the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ) Overall Summary Score (OSS). Check it out here: https://lnkd.in/eY69DQ6Q

𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐩 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐅𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐏𝐀𝐂 𝑮𝒆𝒕 𝑴𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝑰𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔:- https://lnkd.in/dX-NGkjV The implantable loop recorders market was USD 1,341.2 million in 2022, which will touch USD 2,490.4 million, growing at an 8.0% compound annual growth rate, by 2030. The growth of this industry is because of the rising incidence of heart ailments, the increasing healthcare expenses, and the mounting elderly populace. Moreover, the industry is also driven by the increasing governments’ backing for greater healthcare infrastructure and the development of new clinical research fields. In 2022, North America was the highest contributor to the industry, with a 40% share, and it will further advance at a 7% CAGR, during this decade. This can be because of the existence of healthcare facilities & infrastructure, the increasing healthcare spending, the surging requirement for remote patient monitoring devices, and the mounting CVD occurrences. On the other hand, APAC is likely to observe the highest CAGR in the years to come. This will be primarily because of the increase in CVD occurrence because of behavioral and lifestyle changes, increasing heart health consciousness, and the government’s efforts to create advanced healthcare infrastructure. It is because of the improving living standards, growing consciousness of healthcare procedures and devices, and surging count of deaths from cardiovascular diseases across the globe, the implantable loop recorders industry will continue to progress in the coming years. #ImplantableLoopRecorders #CardiacMonitoring #HeartHealth #MedicalDevices #HealthTech #RemoteMonitoring #pnsintelligence #HealthcareInnovation #Cardiology #HeartDiagnostics

Ophthopedia Update:Feasibility of Glaucoma Detection Programs for At-Risk Populations Using Existing Health Care Infrastructure: Purpose: To summarize the glaucoma detection and maintenance programs that utilize existing health care infrastructure to promote up-scalable programs. Methods/Results: Healthcare infrastructure that already exists may facilitate glaucoma detection. This infrastructure includes retail-based optometry practices and federally qualified health centers (FQHC). Persons who are at-risk for glaucoma are disproportionately represented within the patient populations served by much of this infrastructure, thus suggesting that it could be useful for deploying glaucoma screening programs. Glaucoma screening within FQHCs reveals a very high prevalence of glaucoma and related disease in the patients seeking care at these facilities. These telemetric-based care delivery programs have a high patient acceptance. A simulated telemedicine program modelled after a telemedicine program based in Walmart Vision Centers for the diagnosis of glaucoma indicated that there was moderate diagnostic agreement between an ophthalmologist’s telemedicine diagnosis and an ophthalmologist’s in-person diagnosis. There was also moderate agreement between an optometrist’s telemedicine diagnosis and the ophthalmologist’s in-person diagnosis. Conclusion: Telemetric care delivery programs that capitalize on existing infrastructure within a retail-based care setting or FQHCs may provide a promising setting to cost effectively screen for glaucoma and other eye diseases that is potentially expandable nationwide. Copyright © 2024 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved. #Glaucoma #Ophthalmology #Ophthotwitter

AccendoWave - A Pain #Data Company In terms of better outcomes for female patients being treated by a female physician, the paper pointed to male doctors potentially underestimating the severity of their female patients’ illnesses. Prior research has noted that male doctors underestimate their female patients’ #pain levels, gastrointestinal and cardiovascular symptoms, and stroke risk, which could lead to delayed or incomplete care, the study authors wrote. Female doctors also may communicate better with their female patients, making it more likely such patients provide important information leading to better diagnoses and treatment. Finally, female patients may be more comfortable with receiving sensitive examinations and engaging in detailed conversations with female physicians. A Top 4 Global Health Equity Solution and Top 15 Global Remote Monitoring Company, AccendoWave, benchmarks objective brain wave pain data (specialty, gender, age) and has nine #pain databases: Emergency Department, Maternal Health, Oncology, MSK, Medical Surgical, ICU, #Women, Adults, Seniors to eliminate bias, improve outcomes and reduce health care costs. If desired, AccendoWave can also create customized pain databases for partners that can be accessed on the Datavant platform.