By: Jeffrey Maser  Apr. 27, 2018

Dexur analysts recently examined Medicare discharge data from CMS between 2013-2016 and found that Dr. Rajesh Agarwal, of Hillcrest Hospital in Mayfield Heights, accounted for 286 pneumonia discharges, the most of any Ohio physician. During the four year period, Dr. Agarwal also treated patients at Select Specialty Hospital - Cleveland Fairhill in Cleveland, Regency North Central Ohio - Cleveland East in Warrensville Heights, and South Pointe Hospital in Warrensville Heights. Dr. Harbhajan S. Parmar of West Medical Center in Willoughby ranked 2nd with 214 discharges and joined Dr. Agarwal as the only physicians in the state with over 200 pneumonia discharges. Dr. Gohar Ghazarian of Galion Hospital in Galion ranked 3rd with 140 discharges while Dr. Rocky E. Pittman of Hillsdale Hospital in Hillsdale ranked 4th with 137. Dr. Ajay Chawla of OhioHealth Mansfield Hospital in Mansfield rounded out the top five with 135 discharges, just behind Dr. Pittman.

By: Jeffrey Maser  Apr. 26, 2018

Greer Memorial Hospital in Greer had the lowest average length of stay (LOS) among South Carolina hospitals for a heart failure 30-day episode of care with unplanned readmissions with a 3.88 day average LOS between 2013-2016. This was more than three days lower than the national average of 7.08 days as well as the nearly identical 7.07 day average for South Carolina Medicare enrollees. Greer Memorial's average LOS was also the only rate in the state below 4 days. Chester Regional Medical Center in Chester ranked 2nd at 4.48 days and Roper St. Francis Mount Pleasant Hospital in Mt. Pleasant ranked 3rd at 4.93 days. McLeod Dillon in Dillon ranked 4th at 5.01 days while Carolina Pines Regional Medical Center came just behind at 5.02 days to rank 5th.

By: Saparja Nag  Apr. 26, 2018

According to a Dexur study, heart attack patients at Cape Regional Medical Center had the lowest average length of stay for a 30-day episode of care including only unplanned readmissions in New Jersey at just 5.41 days. They were the only hospital in the state to dip below 6 days for this metric during the study's time period, January 2013 to December 2016. Saint Clare's Hospital in Denville ranked 2nd at 6.01 days for the 30-day episode of care. The 3rd ranked hospital was St. Francis Medical Center, which came in at 6.47 days. Southern Ocean Medical Center ranked 4th at 6.63 days and Hackensack UMC Mountainside ranked 5th at 6.83 days.

By: James Pitt  Apr. 26, 2018

Dr. Michael Lewiecki of the New Mexico Clinical Research & Osteoporosis Center published a recent study of trends in osteoporosis-related fractures visible in Medicare claims data. Dr. Lewiecki's findings were so alarming Jane Brody of The New York Times referred to them as a "perfect storm" in a February 2018 article.

By: Saparja Nag  Apr. 26, 2018

Eliquis (apixaban) is primarily prescribed to patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation to reduce risk of stroke, as well as to prevent deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolisms. Although AFib can occur for a number of different reasons, AFib and reduced pulmonary function are often comorbid. One study from 2009 offered three explanations for the relationship between these two conditions, given below.

By: Saparja Nag  Apr. 25, 2018

According to a recent analysis performed by Dexur, Dr. Mark Edwin Mckenzie of Valley Hospital Medical Center led Nevada physicians in gastrointestinal hemorrhage discharge volume with 103 discharges between January 2013 and December 2016. He was one of only five physicians in state to discharge more than 50 GI hemorrhage Medicare inpatients during the four year time period. Dr. Craig Steven Rau and Dr. Ricardo Ramirez Almaguer, both of Carson Tahoe Regional Medical Center, ranked 2nd with 85 discharges and 3rd with 67 discharges, respectively. Ranking 4th was Dr. Lamont Ellis who practiced primarily at Sunrise Hospital & Medical Center and discharged 55 Medicare inpatients with GI hemorrhages, followed by Dr. Murray M. Rosenberg with 53 discharges to rank 5th.