Mike Hennessy

With the fifth anniversary of the signing of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) into law upon us, ample time has passed to allow us to take stock of the law's effects on the practice and business of cardiology, and to make some informed predictions regarding future developments.

As of January 5, 2015, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recognizes interventional cardiology as its own distinct physician specialty.

In this month's issue of Internal Medicine World Report (IMWR), we present summaries of highly relevant studies in the areas of cardiology, pulmonology, gastroenterology, infectious disease, psychiatry, and neurology. Selected by our physician editor for their relevance to the practice of internal medicine, each study addresses a key clinical issue that can have a significant impact on patient care.

This month's issue of Internal Medicine World Report (IMWR) features another collection of studies selected by our physician editor for their potential impact on clinical practice.

This is a time of great change and uncertainty on many fronts in health care, and in cardiology in particular. From new research casting doubts on previously promising procedures (eg, the results from the Symplicity HTN-3 trial released at the 2014 ACC meeting that called into question the usefulness of renal denervation for treating resistant hypertension) to the continued chaos and turmoil surrounding the implementation and future of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), it seems the news raises more questions than it answers.

In their recent article published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Vivek Y. Reddy, MD, and Jeffrey W. Olin, DO, noted "there are few areas in medicine that have gained as much prominence as quickly, or have been as widely dismissed as quickly, as catheter-based renal sympathetic denervation for the treatment of resistant hypertension.

Access, delivery, and affordability-will the courts decide the best course of action or will Congress?

Clinicians have been able to review these guidelines in detail and also take a closer look at how they relate to their patients and practice, the resulting answers are enlightening

Hospital mergers are booming, and this is as a result of the drive for efficiencies, the desire to ensure market positions regionally, and a stunning overhaul of the hospital landscape.

HCPLive will deliver more unique online content and specialty coverage built with the health care professional in mind.

In This Issue... If you turned to this page looking for the "From the Editor," authored by our dynamic editor-in-chief, Lisa Schulmeister, RN, MN, and were dismayed to find "From the Publisher" instead, turn Lisa's new column, "Nurse's Notes." We are excited to bring you this column,

While family history and lifestyle factors affect cancer risk, environmental factors also play a considerable role. You will no doubt recall the movie Erin Brockovich, which recounted the story of a law firm file clerk uncovering the dumping of hexavalent chromium, also called chromium 6, into the groundwater supply of Hinkley, a small town in southern California, by Pacific Gas & Electric.