Medaxiom Blog

As healthcare leaders in the cardiovascular space, we're all too familiar with the challenges of interdepartmental communication. It's time we had a heart-to-heart about breaking down those stubborn silos clogging up our hospitals and outpatient settings. In this blog, we’ll explore some practical strategies to improve collaboration and ultimately enhance patient care.

Introduction: A Checklist for Cardiology Nurse navigators have long been a cornerstone in oncology care, guiding patients through complex treatment pathways and ensuring seamless care coordination. In this specialty area, nurse navigators are invaluable in improving patient outcomes, ensuring satisfaction, and coordinating care. They provide individualized support, help manage numerous appointments and procedures, ensure patients understand their treatment plans, and more.

Learn more about business education from the experts at MedAxiom + Wharton Online: Cardiovascular Business and Management Essentials Program: Register for fall 2024 by Sept. 2. Business Essentials for Cardiovascular Fellows: Open enrollment ends Aug. 31. Those who know me know I was a critical care nurse at the core – I LOVED the unit. I loved the organized chaos. Most importantly, I loved helping our sickest, most vulnerable patients recover. For this reason, I got a Master of Science in Nursing instead of a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree. I was going to be an advanced practice nurse, and physical assessment was my favorite course – until I graduated. After graduation, I realized that to bring care to our patients, I needed to do more, learn more, be more. 

Introduction | The Genesis of AUC | Medicare and AUC | Medicare Drops the AUC Requirement | Why Stick With AUC? | Conclusion | Related Resources Introduction In the dynamic field of cardiovascular care, the concept of appropriate use criteria (AUC) has been a beacon guiding the judicious use of diagnostic testing. AUC are developed to provide guidance to clinicians deciding when it's most beneficial to use certain diagnostic tests. This blog dives into the world of AUC, exploring its history, its connection to Medicare requirements, the recent Medicare changes, and why, despite these changes, AUC remain a critical tools in the decision-making toolkit of cardiology programs.

You’ve undoubtedly heard the expression that “culture eats strategy for breakfast,” credited to Peter Drucker (perhaps incorrectly but that’s another blog topic!). After decades working in healthcare, I’ve learned the same is true for physician compensation. This was recently reinforced for me while listening to the gifted presenters and leaders at ACC.24 in Atlanta.

Introduction Vascular ultrasound is an indispensable diagnostic tool in modern healthcare, offering noninvasive insight into the body's circulatory system. As healthcare providers strive for efficiency and quality, it is essential to benchmark metrics for appointment times. This blog explores these metrics and their importance in optimizing patient care and resource utilization.

In nursing school many years ago, I had an instructor known for her bold educational approach. During one clinical rotation, six of my fellow classmates and I dutifully trailed her down the hall of an orthopedic unit when she suddenly thrust herself against the wall. Several of us stumbled into one another as we came to an abrupt halt. She looked at us with a sideways glance and forcefully whispered, "Anticipate!" While I'm not sure there was a way to predict her sudden move, there have been many times in my career when I've heard the echo of her voice saying, "Anticipate!"

For selfish reasons, I've advocated for fellows' business education for years. As a former cardiovascular medicine administrator, I've had many challenging conversations with frustrated physicians over their profit and loss (P&L) statements. Their P&L statements never reflected how hard they were working. Or they did not understand why we couldn't pay them what they had collected. However, in the current climate, it's even more vital that training directors and mentors arm their cardiovascular fellows and early careerists with basic business principles so that they can advocate for their patients and themselves in an often harsh, competitive and shifting clinical world.

Part 1 of the Private Equity Blog Series Introduction Private equity (PE)-backed deals are not a new phenomenon in healthcare (Figure 1). For years, PE has played a significant role in ophthalmology, orthopedics, emergency medicine and GI, to name a few specialties. Changes in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) rules have allowed cardiovascular procedures such as cardiac catheterizations to be performed within ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), and other procedures like ablations could potentially be added to the ASC setting. Additionally, the CMS strategy has been to shift most historically hospital-based care and procedures to outpatient settings, reducing costs and benefitting the patient and provider experiences. Because of these changes, PE has shifted its focus from other specialties to cardiology groups in recent years.

Innovation. The word is everywhere these days, and it would be difficult to find a company that isn’t “committed” to innovation. It would be a shame if the term went the way of other buzz words like “synergy” and “optimize” — catchy and exciting, but devoid of any real meaning.