~ This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 15th, 2009 at 3:00 am
Posted by Carolyn Weaver, Executive Consultant
Angioplasty without surgery on site continues to expand across the United States with more than 300 program performing services. The road is also expanding beyond STEMI to include elective services, even in Certificate of Need States with excellent outcomes. Thinking of starting a program? Some of the challenges that are faced include:
- Acceptance by the medical staff
- Recruitment of interventional cardiologist and coverage
- Non-physician staffing
- Strategic planning and partnership
- Capital investment
The impact has been positive for all the hospitals that we have worked with and started similar programs across the country, but it is more than just adding a service.
Tags: angioplasty, Angioplasty without surgery on site, Certificate of Need, CON
Posted in Hot Topics, Strategic Planning | No Comments »
~ This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 14th, 2009 at 10:17 am
Today, most hospitals and healthcare systems consider a cardiovascular program to be their heart program. A recent industry survey that was published in the February 2009 issue of HealthLeaders magazine, healthcare leaders were asked, “In your opinion, which service line today has the greatest potential to produce strong revenue growth within the next three years?” Not surprisingly, cardiology topped the list while vascular received only 2% of the votes. Read the complete commentary in Cardiovascular Business under Industry News. http://www.cardiovascularbusiness.com/index.php?option=com_newsletter&id=5996&year=2009
Posted in Hot Topics | No Comments »
~ This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 14th, 2009 at 3:00 am
Congratulations to all of those who made the list (March 30, 2009)! There is no doubt that these programs set the standard for care in the United States and the impact that this designation can have does change the way that care is delivered. Again congrats! http://provider.thomsonhealthcare.com/News/view/?id=2165
Tags: Top 100 Hospital
Posted in Informational | No Comments »
~ This entry was posted on Monday, April 13th, 2009 at 3:00 am
Posted By Carolyn Weaver, Executive Consultant
As I have said many times, cardiovascular revenue should be 25% to 50% of the hospital’s bottom line. But how do you really know if you are capturing all of the revenues? Many hospitals tell me that they check charts against the charges, but I have not found too many hospitals that have a specific team that tracks patients from registration through payment. It is typically done in silos with finance looking at the back side and invasive lab or surgery staff looking at the charges. Only when a large discrepancy arises, does the issue get attention.
Recommendations for managing this better are:
- Develop a dedicated cardiovascular revenue review team.
- Track and review inpatient and outpatient services from a financial perspective (to be performed by the team). In a large cardiovascular program, it should be a percentage; in a small program every case, particularly every invasive case, should be reviewed.
- Ensure that benchmarking is developed by program and types of invasive cases.
- Educate the members of the team as well as clinical staff.
- Give kudos as things change.
Would you like some more information and a case example? See http://www.healthmgttech.com/features/2009_april/0409_advantage.aspx
Tags: cardiovascular revenue, financial, revenue
Posted in Revenue And Costs | No Comments »
~ This entry was posted on Friday, April 10th, 2009 at 3:00 am
Posted By Carolyn Weaver, Executive Consultant
How can you jumpstart a mature cardiovascular program? Plan, plan, and plan! And, of course, re-energize the stakeholders. We have had several calls in the last couple of weeks regarding this topic, and each of the programs is looking to schedule a planning retreat and update their business plan!
Tags: business plan, cardiovascular, retreat, TGIF
Posted in Informational, Strategic Planning | No Comments »
