With advances in Cardiology procedure technology and the goal of achieving a lower cost of care, there has been a visible shift in procedures from the inpatient to the outpatient settings. Several changes in CMS rulings in the last fifteen years have spurred an increase in office-based laboratories (“OBLs”), including catheterization laboratories and vascular access…
Selling Rural As a child growing up on a farm in rural Western Pennsylvania, no one could have convinced me that there was a better place to be. I was privileged to experience the benefits and beauty of growing up in a nature-surrounded, small-town community that supported one another. A community that is home to…
The Post-Pandemic Resignation Boom COVID-19 has challenged and changed the workplace in so many ways and we may never go back to operating how we did before the pandemic uprooted everyone’s lives. Namely, the post-pandemic resignation boom has brought employee retention issues under the spotlight. As turnover rates increase, organizations continue to face high recruiting…
The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) recognizes certain programs that provide the full range of inpatient cardiac care services as Blue Distinction Centers for Cardiac Care. These programs have demonstrated quality outcomes and offer coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG), heart valve surgery, and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). At the beginning of each evaluation…
Visual management is a form of communication used in management which has roots in manufacturing operations, like Lean and Six Sigma, but with opportunities to apply to many other industries, including healthcare. The goal of any visual management is to translate information into a format that is quickly and easily understood at a high…
What is the Value of Corazon’s Cardiovascular Accreditation? Corazon is known for accrediting cardiovascular programs of all sizes throughout the United States. Unlike other accrediting bodies, however, Corazon Accreditation is more than just a means to achieve state requirements. We are a strategic partner, one whose value comes from a collaborative and consultative approach to…
Authored by Carol Wesley, RN, MSN/MHA Resiliency. I remember hearing that word a lot throughout nursing school and then during my career. But what exactly is resiliency? Is it something that is inherited, or simply learned over time? Resilience is a useful and highly adaptive trait that is described as the ability to…
Have you ever wondered whether your cardiac cath lab was running as efficiently as possible? Would you be able to gauge its efficiency? And most importantly, are these considerations even important? Well, in this ever-changing healthcare environment, it is of the utmost importance to be able to deliver services in a cost-effective manner while maintaining…
Authored by Joe Dorko, Senior Consultant. I was listening to a song on the radio, “See the World” by Brett Dennen when I heard the line, “Now I’m planting trees I’ll never climb.” Then a thought occurred to me…this is how leadership feels. As a young pharmacist, I would take time at the end…
Patient Complications Are on the Rise Back in October 2014, CMS began implementing a 1% Medicare payment reduction for hospitals falling in the “worst-performing quartile with respect to hospital-acquired condition (HAC) quality measures,” as part of the HAC Reduction Program. This year, a resulting 764 hospitals will be subject to such a payment cut. Reductions…
