Like adults, children may need to undergo catheterization procedures at hospitals. What are the considerations when these young patients require cath lab imaging exams? Two pediatric cath labs share their strategies.

SAN FRANCISCOAs newer, more expansive procedures such as transcathter aortic valve implementation (TAVI) emerge, it will be imperative for cath labs to integrate and establish multidisciplinary teams rather than face off in turf battles, Sam Radhakrishnan, MD, said during a Nov. 10 presentation at the 23rd annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) conference.

Interventional cardiology may face an upward of 32 percent slash to reimbursement beginning Jan. 1, 2012, due to the Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula. In fact, payments for stent placements are set to decline nearly 4 percent. In the current realm of reimbursement ambiguity and healthcare reform, how will administrators keep their cath lab revenues from fading?

Savvy cath lab managers have learned a number of ways to cut down on costs without compromising care. Trimming waste, expanding buying power, building partnerships and automating processes help achieve these goals.

St. Lukes Hospital in Kansas City, Mo., employs a web-based technology that helps patients understand their risks with an upcoming cath lab procedure. The technology executes the American College of Cardiologys (ACCs) multivariable risk prediction models with patient-specific data so that individualized estimates of outcomes can be generated within the routine flow of clinical care and used to support shared medical decision making.

Scheduling staff for the cardiac cath lab can cause headaches for administrators, especially for time-sensitive, off-hour emergencies. Three facilities explain their methodologies for alleviating this common practice management concern.

While PCI improves the quality of life and survival in certain clinical settings, these benefits are counterbalanced by the procedural risks. To encourage quality patient care, each PCI program must evaluate its performance through a meaningful continuous quality improvment (CQI) process. To help in this process, the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) has published a position paper on implementing a CQI program, which appeared online March 2 in Catheterization and Cardiovascular Interventions.

Due to recent highly publicized controversies of alleged over-stenting, state and federal authorities have begun to question the peer review process in cath labs. As a result, professional societies are exploring a new accreditation process, but some providers fear the time and costs that this could entail.