Medaxiom Blog

This year marks a decade of publishing MedAxiom’s Cardiovascular Provider Compensation and Production Survey. Be on the lookout for the 2022 report, which will be published in the coming days. As the primary author of the survey, I can honestly say it’s been a labor of love for the MedAxiom team. The feedback on the value of the data we get from our membership keeps us motivated and energized.

As the newest member of the MedAxiom Consulting Team, Jaime Warren, EdD, MBA, BHS, CNMT, NCT, brings 20+ years of clinical and operational experience to our community. Beginning her journey in healthcare as a nuclear medicine technologist, Jaime went onto hold operational leadership positions which provided her a viewpoint from the clinician to the C-suite. With extensive experience in both inpatient and ambulatory imaging setting, Jaime’s expertise lies in improving organizational processes, workflows and human performance.

RoundTable Strategic Solutions powers MedAxiom Talent Solutions, which connects healthcare organizations with seasoned cardiovascular experts backed by the entire MedAxiom team. As a leader in delivering innovative staffing solutions to the healthcare industry, RoundTable Strategic Solutions shares a unique perspective on workforce challenges, opportunities and trends to help MedAxiom member organizations thrive in the new normal.

One of the joys – and responsibilities – of MedAxiom is being on the forefront of cardiovascular care. As readers of this blog already know, cardiovascular care is complex in a number of ways. Whether it’s staffing, technology, finances, operations, clinical care, lab optimization, care team development, sites of service and more, the evolutions and solutions are typically hyper-focused on specific organizational challenges and disease states. While there are industry-wide shifts that are often driven by reimbursement changes, it is more common that cardiovascular programs focus on these subsets of care delivery at various times depending on their evolution and overall program strategy. MedAxiom is dedicated to providing solutions for all areas of cardiovascular operational and clinical improvement, thereby accommodating entities that travel in and out of stages of need. Whether a program is focusing on care team optimization, developing a remote patient monitoring program, embarking on a CT journey, seeking cath lab operational efficiency, or pursuing other opportunities, MedAxiom aims to provide cardiovascular programs with the right solution at the right time.

As a recent addition to the MedAxiom Consulting Team, Denise Busman, MSN, brings more than 30 years of experience as a cardiovascular clinician and leader. Her clinical expertise is complemented by a passion for engaging multi-disciplinary teams to transform care delivery and enhance clinical quality. Known for her work in program development and change management, Denise is skilled in the implementation of new programs and clinical initiatives.

RoundTable Strategic Solutions powers MedAxiom Talent Solutions, which connects healthcare organizations with seasoned cardiovascular expertsbacked by the entire MedAxiom team. As a leader in delivering innovative staffing solutions to the healthcare industry, RoundTable Strategic Solutions shares unique perspective on workforce challenges, opportunities and trends to help MedAxiom member organizations thrive in the new normal.

For more than a decade, evidence-based cardiac rehabilitation (CR) has been a Class I indication in clinical guidelines for patients with chronic stable angina, STEMI and NSTEMI, patients undergoing PCI and CABG, and heart failure. The benefits of CR speak for themselves. Evidence clearly shows that CR reduces all-cause mortality by 50% compared to patients with no CR, and it improves risk factors, functional status, quality of life, medication adherence, and keeps patients out of the hospital. A recent publication based on research at Mayo Clinic determined that there is a positive linear health benefit to the number of CR sessions – more sessions equivalated to a greater risk reduction with no upper threshold limit. In fact, their research showed that patients significantly benefit even after one additional session.i

My favorite topic in the whole wide world is endovascular aortic aneurysm (EVAR) repair procedures. Some of you may think I’m crazy, but back in 2005, I was invited to witness an EVAR with the cardiothoracic surgeon I worked for and an interventional radiologist. I was absolutely fascinated by the procedure and saw what a great benefit it was for the patient - less invasive equals quicker recovery. After that experience I was hooked. When it comes to coding these procedures though, often it is not a walk in the park. However, with time and experience they do become easier. Below, I give tips to providers on their documentation and to coders on what to look for.

After a long road of preparing for significant changes to Evaluation and Management (E/M) coding, revised policies on coding, documentation and payment of E/M services are now in effect. According to an American Medical Association (AMA) survey 100% of the major commercial payors said they would adopt new E/M guidelines, which means the changes that went into effect Jan. 1, 2021 have a significant impact on your program’s revenue cycle. It’s not too late to understand the evolution of E/M coding and documentation, and how to set your practice up for success in 2021 and beyond.

Like perennial flowers appearing in the spring, each and every year the thorny issue of physician slowdown breaks into the top five concerns for cardiovascular group and program leaders. Rarely does a cardiologist practice at full throttle and then simply retire on a chosen date. Typically, he or she will reduce day and/or evening responsibilities to extend the ability to continue practicing. While this may seem like a positive approach, given the backdrop of projected physician shortages (Figure 1), it presents significant challenges for program leadership.