Edwards Lifesciences Corp. announced that Japan's Central Social Insurance Medical Council (Chuikyo) has approved the recommendation by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare's (MHLW) expert review panel to provide reimbursement for the Edwards Sapien XT transcatheter aortic heart valve. The reimbursement is scheduled to go into effect on Oct. 1.

Adopting an approach that encourages continued progress while simultaneously acknowledging short-term obstacles, the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) recommends launching Stage 2 Meaningful Use on-schedule and extending Year 1 of the Meaningful Use Stage 2 attestation period through April 2015 and June 2015 for eligible hospitals (EHs) and eligible professionals (EPs), respectively. This would encompass 18 months in which EHs and EPs can attest to Meaningful Use requirements for one quarter.

Baptist Health eliminated 85 percent of CDs by storing and sharing medical images in real-time through Accelarad’s secure cloud platform. As central Alabama’s healthcare leader and one of only five Level II trauma facilities in the state, Baptist Health has been an Accelarad customer since March 2013.

Frost & Sullivan has named Siemens Healthcare the "2013 North American Interventional Radiology Company of the Year" for its interventional imaging solutions in cardiology, radiology and hybrid surgery. The Frost & Sullivan study states, "Siemens is extremely well positioned within the interventional cardiology segment, within the overarching surgical clinical segment, as well as neurology, oncology and pediatrics." Siemens says it has been able to sustain market expansion momentum by continually leading the industry in the development of new technology for high-end interventional equipment, while enhancing current clinical applications and enabling new ones. Over the last decade, Siemens said it has succeeded in establishing the company as the market and technology leader in the United States by exploring new possibilities to enhance interventional therapy and patient care.

August 22, 2013 – BioVentrix announced the successful first use of its Revivent Myocardial Anchoring System via the Less Invasive Ventricular Enhancement (LIVE) procedure in Germany. The successful procedure was performed on a 54-year-old man suffering from advanced heart failure at the Schön Klinik Vogtareuth in Vogtareuth, Germany.