Streamlining for Efficiency February 16, 2010
Posted by Heather M. Ross, DNP, ANP-BC, CCDS, CEPS, FHRS in Allied Health Professionals.Tags: Healthcare reform, Practice management, Quality & outcomes, Remote monitoring
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Healthcare reform is in full swing and cardiology practices across the country are strategizing for how to continue to care for our patients who have increasingly complex care needs despite declining reimbursements. Many practices have reported plans to cut staff in order to keep the practice afloat. Over the past several months, my practice has undergone a variety of changes that have left us with a strong but lean personnel profile. And yet, the nationwide cutbacks loom large for private and academic practices.
Rather than feeling helpless, we have thought a great deal about incorporating efficiencies into our practice in order to streamline processes and maximize our ability to provide patient care that benefits both us and our patients in terms of time and cost efficiencies. (more…)
New Year’s Resolution: ATP February 1, 2010
Posted by Heather M. Ross, DNP, ANP-BC, CCDS, CEPS, FHRS in Allied Health Professionals.Tags: Antitachycardia pacing, ATP, ICD
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The New Year is here, full of personal resolutions to eat better and exercise more. So far, a few (handfuls of) M&Ms may have accidentally found their way to me. And my plan to exercise every day is, well, still in the planning phase.
But despite my personal resolution…um…plans, I am determined to make my professional resolution stick. 2010 will be the year of ATP – that is, making sure that antitachycardia pacing (ATP) is programmed for every appropriate patient, according to evidence shown by Walthen et al. (2004) in the PainFREE RX II trial.
This year, I’m taking special note to check the tachy zones to make sure that even for prophylactic ICDs, there is a VT zone with ATP programmed. And if there’s not, I have a plan in place to address it in my practice.
I hope that none of my patients ever have to have ATP, and that their prophylactic ICDs remain prophylactic and not therapeutic. But just in case, I feel good knowing that I have done everything I can, using all the evidence available, to avoid unnecessary shocks in 2010 and onward.
Heart Rhythm Society
Laurie Racenet, RN, MSN, ANP
Michael Giudici, MD, FACC, FACP, FHRS
Heather M. Ross, DNP, ANP-BC, CCDS, CEPS, FHRS
Anne Dubin, MD, FHRS
John D. Day, MD, FHRS
Andrea M. Russo, MD, FACC, FHRS
Joshua M. Cooper, MD, FACC
Amit J. Shanker, MD, FHRS, FACC
Bruce Stambler, MD
David Wiggins, RN, BS BME, CEPS
Fred M. Kusumoto, MD, FHRS
Leonard Ganz, MD, FHRS
christinechiuman
Craig Delaughter, MD, PhD
Ariana Del Negro, Heart Rhythm 2010 Quality
Peng-Sheng Chen, MD, FHRS
MSKremers MD,FHRS
Ann C. Garlitski, MD, FACC, FHRS
Alan Cheng, MD, FHRS
Ulrika Birgersdotter-Green, MD
Christopher Clyne, MD, FHRS
Kathleen Blake, MD, MPH, FHRS
David Scher, MD, FHRS
Sanjay Deshpande, MD, FHRS
Thomas F. Deering, MD, FHRS
