National Cardiovascular Partners (NCP) is the pioneer of the Hybrid Cardiovascular Center model (ASC & Catheterization Lab). Learn how they have successfully partnered with top physicians who are interested in having more professional control and the freedom to provide high-quality patient care.
It’s not hyperbole to say that in the past few years, the healthcare industry has undergone seismic shifts. As the population ages and Americans continue to live longer, the strains on the current system are likely to increase significantly. The urgency of reforming healthcare has become a political hot button as members of Congress debate on how to rein in the costs of what has become the most expensive healthcare system in the world.
Nowhere is this more evident than in the surgical outpatient arena. Advances in technology and more sophisticated surgical procedures have emboldened patients to demand more convenient and cost-effective care. As a result, hospital admissions have steadily declined, and ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) are popping up everywhere.
National Cardiovascular Partners has been at the forefront of the movement toward safe and effective outpatient care for nearly a decade. Our skilled partner physicians and their dedicated staffs have performed well over 100,000 minimally invasive cardiovascular and endovascular procedures, including heart catheterizations, stent placements, and pacemaker insertions. In the hands of our experts, our patients enjoy extremely low complication and infection rates, and report extremely high overall satisfaction rates. How do we know? We meticulously track each and every procedural outcome, enabling us to share best practices throughout our organization and set the highest standards for the industry.
And in many ways, we are just getting started.
Earlier this year, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Studies (CMS) took an important step in updating the rules governing allowable payments in an outpatient setting by proposing a revision to their definition of “surgery” to include more codes outside the Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) surgical range. In addition, they also strongly signaled a willingness to include, in a future rulemaking, a number of the percutaneous coronary intervention procedures by specifically requesting feedback on these procedure codes. These procedures are currently only permissible in a hospital setting.
What does this mean? If approved, patients will no longer have to navigate a complicated and antiquated system and endure multiple procedures in multiple locations for safe and effective cardiovascular care. In other words, even more patients will be able to choose when, where, and how their procedures can be performed!
As both the national medical director for NCP and a practicing cardiologist for 20 years, I have seen firsthand how this outpatient movement has benefited and will continue to benefit our patients, from reduced costs to greater convenience and most importantly, better clinical results.
From a business perspective, the NCP model not only enables me to provide the highest quality of care to my patients without the administrative headaches that accompany a thriving practice, but also affords me greater flexibility with my schedule and a greater earning potential.
As technology continues to evolve and patients demand more say in their care, the outpatient trend is certain to continue. If you are interested in learning more about creating and growing your own hybrid ASC-Cath lab, with full clinical control and no administrative headaches, stop by our booth (#40G) at the upcoming Becker’s ASC Annual Meeting in Chicago on October 18–20, visit the NCP website, or give us a call (651) 846-8792 — we’d love to chat.