JACC - Hospital-Cardiologist Integration and Outcomes | JACC | AHA 2024

JACC Associate Editor Jason H. Wasfy, MD, MPhil, FACC interviews author Vinay Kini, MD, FACC about this hospital integration study published in JACC and presented at AHA. Cardiologist employment by hospitals is increasing, but the impact on care quality is not well understood. The study identified cardiologists who cared for acute myocardial infarction or heart failure patients between 2008-2019. Outcomes were compared for patients treated by cardiologists who switched to hospital employment versus cardiologists who remained independent. The proportion of hospital-employed cardiologists increased from 26% in 2008 to 63% in 2019. The study found no differences in clinical outcomes (e.g., 30-day mortality) or most quality-of-care metrics between patients treated by hospital-employed versus independent cardiologists. The results do not support purported benefits of hospital employment on care quality.

Om Podcasten

Each week, Valentin Fuster, MD, PhD, MACC, records free podcasts highlighting journal findings. To keep clinicians updated on the most important science emerging in clinical and translational cardiology, Dr. Fuster provides an overview of the weekly edition from the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC), as well as a short summary of each manuscript. Encompassing JACC and nine cardiovascular specialty journals, the JACC family of journals rank among the top cardiovascular peer-reviewed journals in the world for scientific impact.