Cardiovascular Rounds

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A Closer Look at CV Productivity and Procedure Yield

on October 27, 2010  |  Permalink

Topics: Planning, Strategy, Cardiovascular, Service Lines

At a time when the health care industry faces much ambiguity through reform, one certainty is apparent: Resources will be more constrained as we face a shortage of physicians, an influx of chronic condition patients, and declining reimbursements. Careful planning will be critical; yet, the data needed for such preparations are often elusive.

To provide greater visibility and inform strategic planning efforts, the Roundtable has tackled key questions surrounding typical productivity and procedure yield for the CV service line. Though the exact calculations may vary by region, the following analysis provides baseline data.

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A Closer Look at CV Productivity and Procedure Yield

Lowe's, Cleveland Clinic Hit 'Home Run' with Bundled Payment Deal

on October 26, 2010  |  Permalink

Topics: Cardiovascular, Service Lines, Cardiac Surgery, Finance

As reported in the Daily Briefing, an arrangement between North Carolina-based Lowe's and the Cleveland Clinic that combines bundled payment, medical tourism and cardiac surgery is proving to be a "home run," according to the home improvement retailer.

Under the agreement—which was finalized in April—Lowe's offers to fly any of its 240,000 employees or their dependents seeking heart surgery to Cleveland to receive treatment, MedCity News reports. If an employee opts into the program, Lowe's waives their $500 deductible and covers all costs, including travel to and accommodations in Cleveland. Lowe's then pays the Clinic a flat "bundled" rate for all cardiac surgery services.

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Lowe's, Cleveland Clinic Hit 'Home Run' with Bundled Payment Deal

American Heart Association Issues New CPR Guidelines

on October 20, 2010  |  Permalink

Topics: Cardiovascular, Service Lines, Methodologies, Performance Improvement

As reported in the Daily Briefing, the American Heart Association (AHA) on Monday issued new CPR guidelines based on recent research, which showed that chest compressions alone—instead of standard CPR including mouth-to-mouth resuscitation—are more effective at getting bystanders to help revive patients whose hearts have stopped, USA Today reports.

A study published in the JAMA earlier this month analyzed data from a five-year statewide campaign in Arizona that encouraged bystanders to administer hands-only CPR if they saw a person in distress. The study—which analyzed 4,415 cardiac arrest patients between 2005 and 2009—found that the rate of bystanders who provided any type of CPR increased from 28% in 2005 to 40% in 2009, and hands-only CPR became the primary type of CPR that was administered over that time period. The JAMA study also found that survival rates increased from 18% to 34% with the compression-only method, and the percentage of bystanders willing to do CPR rose from 28% to 40% in 2009.

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American Heart Association Issues New CPR Guidelines

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