New registry helps hospitals expand outpatient services for heart patients
As hospitals face rising demand for structural heart procedures, many have looked at, or started using, ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs) as a way to assist with the management of patients. The American College of Cardiology (ACC) launched a new ASC Registry in 2024 to track outcomes and help maintain quality in these outpatient centers. That registry, part of the ACC’s National Cardiovascular Data Registry (NCDR) portfolio, comes as many hospital programs are weighing how to handle growing case volumes without overextending hospital-based cath labs.
Joan Michaels, RN, director of the ACC’s Transcatheter Valve Therapies (TVT) and IMPACT congenital heart registries, said the timing could not be better.
"This is a tremendous tool to help hospitals triage who should have what procedure done where. Many hospitals don't have the space to expand for more inpatient spaces, but with the ability to use the ASC concept when it's appropriate, they will will allow the influx of the increase in aortic and tricuspid patients," Michaels explained.
She said ACC is seeing this trend across many of the 850 sites already involved with the TVT registry, and many hospitals are exploring how to best manage their patients.
"I think hospitals need to get ready and prepared, and the ASC registry could not have come on at a better time," Michaels said.
The registry is designed to capture data from ASCs performing percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) and structural heart procedures, helping hospitals determine which patients can be safely treated in an outpatient setting. By doing so, hospitals can reserve inpatient labs for more complex tricuspid and higher-risk aortic patients.
She added that the heart team model will also play a critical role in patient selection. These teams include physicians, nurses, anesthesiologists and imagers, which are critical to scaling up as volumes increase.
Dave Fornell has covered healthcare for more than 17 years, with a focus in cardiology and radiology. Fornell is a 5-time winner of a Jesse H. Neal Award, the most prestigious editorial honors in the field of specialized journalism. The wins included best technical content, best use of social media and best COVID-19 coverage. Fornell was also a three-time Neal finalist for best range of work by a single author. He produces more than 100 editorial videos each year, most of them interviews with key opinion leaders in medicine. He also writes technical articles, covers key trends, conducts video hospital site visits, and is very involved with social media. E-mail: [email protected]