A White Paper, entitled Reconnecting the Pieces to Optimize Care in Atrial Fibrillation, was recently released by the Centre for Innovation in Complex Care (CICC), of the University Health Network (UHN) in Toronto, Canada. This report identified significant gaps in atrial fibrillation (AF) care in Ontario, discussed challenges for patients and healthcare professionals as well as costs to the healthcare system. The report also describes the launch of the Innovate AFIB project, created to improve atrial fibrillation care and to serve as a model of care for other patients with complex, chronic conditions.

In an effort to reduce the cost of healthcare, the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 mandated the nationwide proliferation of Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) audits by the year 2010. Since the initial rumor of the RAC concept propagated, the program has been exceedingly effective at reducing Medicare payment to providers.

The AFib Support Team, brought together by sanofi-aventis U.S., is a new national public awareness campaign that provides information for atrial fibrillation patients to help them manage their condition. The AFib Support Team is made up of an electrophysiologist, a cardiovascular nurse, a senior fitness expert and a lifestyle gerontologist. We talk to them about the initiative here.

Bradley P. Knight, MD, FACC, FHRS

What prompted the creation of the AFib Support Team initiative?

It is now well established that the implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) is an accepted means of primary and secondary prevention in those patients who are at increased risk of sudden cardiac death, arrhythmias such as Brugada syndrome, and conditions due to primary cardiomyopathies and heart failure. The data supports increased survival rates and better quality of life (QOL) by improving the ability to participate in normal daily activities and exercise programs. However, because the implantation often occurs against a complex medical background with inevitable psychological stress, all implanted patients should be considered at high risk for developing psychopathology.1

Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center (PBGMC) opened their state-of-the-art cardiac electrophysiology (EP) lab on May 22, 2009. Learn more about the new lab here.

Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center (PBGMC) recently opened its new 1,585 square foot state-of-the-art electrophysiology lab. The lab is equipped with the newest technology available and enables PBGMC to provide expanded EP services, including atrial fibrillation (AF) and atrial flutter ablations, as well as three-dimensional (3-D) mapping of the heart.