The Growth of Outpatient Cardiac Procedures in ASC

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Sensible Solutions for Refurbished Radiology
The Growth of Outpatient Cardiac Procedures in ASC
By Vikki Harmonay
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Sensible Solutions for Refurbished Radiology
During the pandemic, hospitals were so
overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients that many
elective surgeries were postponedindefinitely!
Cardiolgy ASC And while this makes sense for a
non-emergent hernia operations, delaying a
critical cardiac intervention thats labeled as
elective made many healthcare professionals
uncomfortable. Thats why many outpatient
facilities began performing stent placements,
catheterizations and pacemaker implants, to name
a few.
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Sensible Solutions for Refurbished Radiology
In fact, almost 70 of cardiac procedures are now
taking place in hospital outpatient
settingsespecially since commercial payers are
reimbursing outpatient facilities for these
procedures. Are you considering adding a
cardiology service line to your surgical
facility? If so, here are certain distinctions
that separate heart and vascular procedures from
other outpatient specialties.
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Sensible Solutions for Refurbished Radiology
Staffing As cardiology care is very specialized,
your staff will need to have relevant experience
and technical skills like advanced cardiac life
support, catheterization laboratory techniques
and critical care certification. You also need to
hire staff thats specially trained in
cardiology, including the procurement of
cardiology nurses versus surgical nurses. This
also means youll need to determine if youll
have enough cases to warrant this specially
trained staff. Make sure you hire seasoned
physicians who are comfortable with handling
common complications in cardiology procedures and
arent discouraged by the regulatory and
reimbursement challenges that exist for this
specialty.
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Sensible Solutions for Refurbished Radiology

• Its probably best to focus on three main
  categories of care.
• Coronary Both diagnostic and interventional
  work. This includes right and left heart
  catheterizations, balloon angioplasty and stent
  placements.
• Peripheral Vascular Interventions, or work
  performed on the vessels outside the heart.
• Devices The placement of implants like
  pacemakers, defibrillators and loop recorders.

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Sensible Solutions for Refurbished Radiology
Patient Selection The patient selection criteria
you employ will dictate the overall safety of
your cardiology program, so its important to
establish your criteria and lab values. Cardiac
patients are usually more vulnerable than
standard ASC patients, often with diabetes, high
blood pressure or other issues that can make
procedures riskier to perform. You may choose to
not perform procedures on patients with kidney
disease because of the additional risk for
complications. The contrast dye can overload the
kidneys.
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Sensible Solutions for Refurbished Radiology
Complexity of Regulatory and Reimbursement. Yes,
CMS is now approving cardiac procedures performed
in ASCs, but the approval codes are constantly
evolving, which can be confusing. In addition,
reimbursement can be difficult and challenging.
Because this is a new specialty for ASCs,
negotiating contracts with payers can be
difficult. In addition, escalating start-up costs
due to cost increases and supply shortages can be
obstacles to ROI.
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Sensible Solutions for Refurbished Radiology
Here To Stay?
Ever since CMS began reimbursing for cardiac
procedures performed in ASC settings theres been
a steady increase in the number of approved
interventions. Theres no doubt that safe
cardiovascular procedures will continue to be
performed outside traditional hospital settings.
In fact, you can anticipate an increase in
approved procedures in the future, including
structural valve repairs.
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Sensible Solutions for Refurbished Radiology
Talk to An Expert
If you need medical imaging equipment to increase
your ability to perform cardiac procedures in
your ASC, talk to the experts at Atlantis
Worldwide. Often times you can get the
performance you want at a kinder price point by
choosing certified refurbished or used CT
Scanners, MRIs, C-Arms and more. Atlantis
Worldwide has been helping healthcare facilities
find ideal medical imaging systems for more than
29 years. Wed love to help you, too.
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Sensible Solutions for Refurbished Radiology
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3. C-Arms Vascular Health
4. Comparing The GE Innova Digital Cath Lab Family
   2100, 3100 4100
5. Tips to Prepare For X-Ray Machine Installation

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