ATS: American Thoracic Society International Conference

In this video, Richard Channick, MD, Director, Pulmonary Hypertension and Thromboendarterectomy Program, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, speaks about the use of Macitentan for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).

Colin Cooke, MD, MSc, Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, says that hospitals with higher readmission rates that treat patients with acute myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure, and pneumonia will be penalized due to healthcare reform.

The panel at the American Thoracic Society 2013 International Conference continued discussions that suggested high rates of hospital readmissions may be an indicator of poor initial treatment, or failure to coordinate care. Further, these rates, which varied dramatically from hospital to hospital, were often excessively expensive.

Scott Halpern, MD, PhD, discussed the Choosing Wisely campaign with his opening presentation on The History of and Rationale for the Choosing Wisely Campaign. As most healthcare providers know, healthcare spending per capita in the United States is significantly higher than most other countries.

David Au, MD, Professor, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, says that hospital systems represent only one aspect of care delivery for patients who have been hospitalized.

In this video, Gulshan Sharma, MD, MPH, Associate Professor, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, addresses the hospitalist movement, which has resulted in shorter hospital stays and lower costs of care.

David H. Au, MD, MS, kicked off the Hospital Readmissions session at the American Thoracic Society 2013 conference with his presentation on Defining the Role of the Practitioner, Scientist and Policymaker. In the presentation, Dr Au says that it is important for all stakeholders in the healthcare industry to focus on hospital readmission rates.

Dr Keertan Dheda's presentation at the American Thoratic Society 2013 International Conference, XDR TB: What Else Can We Do? focused on the growing epidemic of drug resistant tuberculosis (DR TB). Dr Dheda said there are about 25000 XDR TB global cases annually, and that DR TB can be very expensive to treat and manage.

"I think probably most importantly, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) seeks to expand insurance coverage for a large population of people," said Colin Cooke, MD, MSc, Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.

David Weidig, MD, System Director of Hospital Medicine, Aurora Medical Group, Milwaukee, WI, says that readmissions are not necessarily a failure of medical treatment, but a failure of psycologic and social support systems for the patient that are not addressed while the patient is hospitalized.