Bana Jobe

Troponin—or any other biomarker, for that matter—cannot single-handedly identify a blocked artery. That kind of diagnosis is informed by the lab, but it's confirmed by waveforms and imaging, including ACS-related ECG findings.

Mighty though it may be, your medical crisis management handbook doesn’t cover everything. Sometimes you’ll just have to adapt as you go. Here’s how.

Telehealth is table stakes in a coronavirus world. Federal rules have relaxed such that anyone can get started, and now more than ever, patients are willing and ready to talk to their doctors from afar.

While the reimbursement ecosystem for COVID-19 may continue to evolve in policy and practice, here’s what physicians should know right now.

As patient support programs continue to improve access to therapy, they have become essential for most modern medicines. Patient services can be a valued connector across the care journey, providing data and insights that help accelerate speed-to-therapy for everyone. And indeed, market competition to provide patient services has intensified, which means choosing the right patient support partner for your program is all the more important. Moreover, it's a big responsibility.

Even if they follow social distancing guidelines, asymptomatic carriers still run the risk of spreading the virus. Because asymptomatic carriers don't appear to be sick, they're not likely to get tested. If they don't get tested, their cases go undocumented. And undocumented cases, according to a study published in Science magazine, can increase exposure to a virus. Case in point: About 86 percent of novel coronavirus infections that emerged in Wuhan, China, went undocumented, and undocumented infections were the infection source for 79 percent of documented cases.

Even as labs shutter and the world shelters in place, the science must go on. Here's how to keep your skills sharp from afar.

Given insights that indicate comorbidities both increase infection risk and worsen prognoses, physicians should remain diligent about patients' risk and refer them for imaging follow-ups to detect abnormalities. As an essential tool for monitoring heart activity, ECG may be a first line of defense in spotting signs of complications.

ECG can help physicians monitor for prolonged QT intervals in patients who may need the medication despite its risks—and a new paper from Mayo Clinic gives guidance on how.

Current events have exacerbated existing mental health issues like anxiety, stress and depression. If you're looking for a socially distant approach to coping, give telemedicine a try.

The COVID-19 pandemic has put laboratories on edge, even if they're not testing for the novel coronavirus. Now is the time to protect your laboratory, your colleagues, and yourself. Here's how.

COVID-19 has temporarily closed many labs, but the science must go on for others. Whether you're keeping precious cultures alive or doing other essential work, stay vigilant about safety. Here's how to protect yourself, your colleagues, and your work from the viral spread.

Market competition to provide patient services has intensified, which means choosing the right patient support partner for your program is all the more important. Moreover, it's a big responsibility. Here's how a robust analytics program sets some partners apart.

With medical device cybercrime at red-flag levels, protecting against attacks is a pressing need for hospitals. After that, it’s full-steam-ahead on operational and clinical optimization.

Healthcare was already reckoning with physician and nurse shortages well before COVID-19, but now it’s mission-critical. As gyms, hotel rooms and military vessels turn into pop-up care centers, facilities need more clinicians on the front lines than ever before. If you find yourself back in practice as a medical volunteer, you might get to help with several clinical areas. Here are a few of them.