Cardiology is exploding in the outpatient setting as technology advances physicians’ ability to perform cardiovascular procedures outside of the hospital and CMS expands its coverage of these procedures in the ASC setting.
Charleen Tackett, administrator of Houston-based Vital Heart & Vein, said that the delay in the final approval of new procedures has resulted in a “mad dash” to safely pull together the equipment and staff necessary to add EP ablations, one of the procedures recently approved by CMS.
Previously, the ASC had offered cardiovascular procedures under moderate sedation. Now, Ms. Tackett is coordinating anesthesia, supplies and staffing, adding that strong guidance from electrophysiologists has been key in organizing the service expansion.
“We’re a cardiology practice, so we’re lucky to have our EP physicians here with us to guide us on equipment that they prefer,” she said. “I think if you’re trying to bring in cardiology, not having them there to readily help you could be a barrier.”
For any ASC looking to add or expand into cardiology, and especially for those adding EP ablations, it’s essential to form a team capable of addressing any area of development, from supplies to safety and quality.
“Know who you’re going to partner with so you can lean on them,” Ms. Tackett said. “Get a team together and eliminate those blindspots, those things that you may not think about.”
Anesthesia procurement and management represented a significant blindspot for Ms. Tackett,
and securing an anesthesia contract should be a first order of business for ASC administrators.
“Get anesthesia in early so you can cover all the supplies and policies and procedures that you’re going to need if you’re not already utilizing anesthesia,” she said. Beginning everything as early as possible is key, especially for ASCs trying to contain costs as tightly as possible.
“Get a working team together and meet weekly. Establish a checklist,” she said. “That’s one thing we did. Once we had the checklist going, we could check off things we had done on a timeline and make sure we had everything going at the right pace.”
