Maintaining Successful Practice Depends on Changing Old Habits, Embracing CV Service Lines

MIAMI BEACH, FLA.—Important strategies that can improve patient care and the overall success of a cardiology practice involve becoming a true life-long learner and staying abreast of the medical literature.

J. Dawn Abbott, MD, of Brown University, Providence, R.I., said there is a new way to thinking about learning that involves identifying gaps in knowledge; generating and resolving those gaps; and using self-assessment strategies.

While it is impossible to read every published research study, Abbott said that it is important for an interventional cardiologist to embrace life-long learning, continually identify knowledge gaps, and evaluate the need for new skills. These learning practices, which may be different for each person, should be built into the practice to better serve patients, she said.

Key constructs to life-long learning include graduate health professional education; continuing education methods; patient-centered; point-of-care; basic/graduate health professional education; workplace learning; and interprofessional education. 

“You can attend smaller meetings, webinars, review peer-reviewed articles for a journal, whatever works best for you, as long as you can find the information you need,” Abbott said.

By adopting these new methods of learning, Abbott said that cardiologists can become more innovative, responsible, accountable and self-reliant in their practice. And as a result, they can act as agents of positive change in cardiology, as well as remain flexible and resourceful.

Cardiac service line

Howard T. Walpole, MD, MBA, from Okyanos Heart Institute, Belleair Blufs, Fla., also offered ways to adapt and improve patient care and practice management in the changing health care landscape.

One example is a cardiac service line, which is a business model that can optimize clinical care for the lowest financially sustainable cost while providing a competitive incentive structure for physicians and hospitals.

“It is a model that integrates all cardiac — cardiovascular and vascular — services provided by physicians and hospitals in a stream-lined, efficient system,” Walpole said. “Physicians will continue to become more important in the dyad structure for the success of the practice and care of patients.”

The three basic principles  for a successful cardiac service line are: 1) patient-centered care; 2) inclusivity; and 3) data driven. Following these principles should help develop a cardiac service line that provides a meaningful array of services, a unified point of service and a consolidated business structure, he said.

Walpole also said that having a vision for the practice that is understood and accepted by all involved parties as well as  goals that are designed to support that vision, are additional important components. These should be paired with having a strategy designed to achieve the goals and a governance structure that coordinates the strategy.