CardioSource WorldNews | Page 70
› Test Reads — A noninvasive cardiologist
provided a minimum of 20 hours per week,
conducting reads for tests completed in the
on-site clinic’s NIL.
› Hospital Rounding — All cardiologists rounded on their own inpatients, which typically
required 10 to 12 hours each week to complete
› Call Coverage — The group maintained a
general cardiology call panel. All cardiologists
participated in the general cardiology call.
Practice Assessment Findings and Solutions
It became clear throughout this assessment that
several performance and provider deployment
issues inhibited the practice’s overall operational
effectiveness. The table below outlines the primary
performance issues the assessment identified and
the solutions we proposed to the group.
The Result
With opportunities for improvement identified,
the group took action. By implementing some
of our recommendations, the group was able to
alleviate unnecessary demand on cardiology time
alancing the competing clinical demands on
B
cardiologists’ time can be challenging and, without
a thoughtful approach, may result in suboptimal
performance and unmet patient needs.
for activities outside of the clinic, align nonprovider staffing, and utilize available clinic and
NIL capacities. In turn, the group increased its
productivity and realized almost $1,000,000 in
incremental net medical revenue with the same
staff and expense structure. The changes not only
improved financial performance but enhanced
patient care. The providers are now more available
to service patient needs and utilize a care team
model that ensures greater access to and continuity of services.
Balancing the competing clinical demands on
cardiologists’ time can be challenging and, without
a thoughtful approach, may result in suboptimal
performance and unmet patient needs. By utilizing
a limited amount of data, setting performance targets, and taking a critical review of typical models
of care, the ambulatory environment can become
a much more effective component of a cardiology group’s clinical practice while simultaneously
improving the patient experience.
For more information, contact Michael Duffy at
[email protected]. ■
IT’S YOUR DATA …
© 2015 American College of Cardiology Foundation
B15178
USE IT!
The ACC’s CathPCI Physician Dashboard offers ACC
members free, confidential access to their CathPCI
Registry data.
Use your trusted, validated data to:
• Easily compare performance in over
40 metrics to colleagues
• Complete MOC self-directed PIMS
• Inform quality improvement activities
Visit ACC.org/PhysicianDashboard