The ACC is piloting a practice-level assessment and recognition program designed specifically to identify quality in cardiovascular practice. The College intends to offer this “Cardiovascular Practice Recognition Program” (CVRP) as a method for cardiovascular practitioners and health care purchasers to understand and evaluate quality cardiovascular care.

The CVRP will establish legitimate goals and targets for cardiovascular specialists and their practices to achieve in their professional development, clinical processes and operational infrastructure. In addition, it will provide a road map to guide performance improvement and practice transformation strategies, and bring consistency to market by standardizing the methodology for how cardiovascular practices are assessed and recognized.

The CVRP is intended as an evolving program that will change over time to encourage innovation, stimulate improvement and raise the bar for quality cardiovascular care. In the pilot phase of the CVRP, data will be collected, submitted and assessed at the practice level, the patient level and the individual cardiologist level. The intent is to gather enough data to validate the meaningfulness of the metrics and criteria, determine scoring strategies, set thresholds and assign three levels of recognition. Any flaws in the design and procedures will be identified and addressed prior to full-scale launch.

Practices participating in the pilot are representative of a variety of cardiology practices today: small, medium, large; urban, rural, suburban; academic, hospital-based, private; with and without electronic medical records; etc. Pilot results will headline the Medical Directors’ Institute (MDI) Strategy Roundtable on June 29. The practice-level assessment is intended to evaluate:

• Use of a CCHIT-approved electronic medical record
• Use of an electronic prescribing system
• Use of a patient Satisfaction Survey
• Use of Accredited Labs for Non-Invasive Diagnostic Imaging, Echo and Nuclear
• Successful Participation in the 2007 and 2008 CMS Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI)
• Active Participation in a nationally recognized Cath PCI Registry
• Active Participation in a nationally recognized ICD Registry
•
The patient-level assessment is intended to evaluate adherence to clinical performance measures provided for physicians by the ACC, the American heart Association (AHA), and the Physician Consortium for Performance Improvement (PCPI) for Coronary Artery Disease, Hypertension, Heart Failure, and Atrial Fibrillation and Atrial Flutter. The individual physician assessment is intended to evaluate each cardiologist in the practice as applicable:

• Current Cardiovascular Board (ABIM or ABP) Certification
• Current Cardiovascular Subspecialty Board (ABIM) Certification: EP
• Current CV Subspecialty Board (ABIM) Certification: Intervention
• Current participation in Maintenance of Board Certification
• Current FACC or FAHA Designation
• Current Cardiovascular Subspecialty Designation
• Current Cardiovascular Subspecialty Certification
• Documentation of Continuing Medical Education
• Documentation of participation in interactive, online educational activities that focus on quality improvement or performance improvement
Practices that have signed the CVRP Pilot Practice Agreement to date are:
• W. Spencer Tilley, Jr. MD FACC; Greensboro, NC
• Premier Heart Care; San Luis Obispo, CA
• Emad Khaleeli, MD Inc; Torrance, CA
• Cardiac Electrophysiology Institute; Los Angeles, CA
• Frist Cardiology; Nashville, TN
• Pinehurst Cardiology Consultants PLLC; Pinehurst, NC
• Tennessee Heart, PLLC; Cookeville, TN
• Heart & Vascular Center of Arizona; Phoenix, AZ
• Cardiovascular Associates; Elk Grove Village, IL
• The Heart Center; Poughkeepsie, NY
• Cooper University Hospital; Camden, NJ
• Illinois Heart and Vascular; Hinsdale, IL
• Henry Ford Heart & Vascular Institute; Detroit, MI

Work on the CVRP began in June 2007 under the direction of the Performance Assessment, Recognition, Reward and Reporting Task Force. The task force and the CVRP work group were formed to ensure collaboration with cardiology subspecialty societies in the development and implementation of value-based purchasing initiatives and products within the College. Currently, the Clinical Quality Committee provides oversight and direction for the CVRP through its Partners in Quality Subcommittee.

March 15, 2011 (San Luis Obispo, CA) – Premier Heart Care of San Luis Obispo has been awarded a three-year term of accreditation in nuclear medicine as the result of a recent review by the American College of Radiology (ACR). Co-owned Premier Vein Care also underwent an extensive review and was granted a three-year term of accreditation in ultrasound.

Nuclear medicine is a branch of medical imaging that uses small amounts of radioactive material, ingested by the patient, to diagnose and treat a variety of disease, including many types of cancers, heart disease, and certain other abnormalities within the body.

Ultrasound imaging, also known as sonography, uses high-frequency sound waves to produce images of internal body parts to help providers diagnose illness, injury, or other medical problems.

Doctor Kenneth Stevens M.D., owner of Premier Heart Care and Premier Vein Care is proud of these new accreditations. “Having the latest equipment and the best training gives us better resources to help our patients”, he says.

The ACR gold seal of accreditation represents the highest level of image quality and patient safety. It is awarded only to facilities meeting ACR Practice Guidelines and Technical Standards after a peer-review evaluation by board-certified physicians and medical physicists who are experts in the field. Image quality, personnel qualifications, adequacy of facility equipment, quality control procedures, and quality assurance programs are assessed. The findings are reported to the ACR Committee on Accreditation, which subsequently provides the practice with a comprehensive report they can use for continuous practice improvement.

The ACR is a national professional organization serving more than 34,000 diagnostic/interventional radiologists, radiation oncologists, nuclear medicine physicians, and medical physicists with programs focusing on the practice of medical imaging and radiation oncology and the delivery of comprehensive health care services.

For more information contact:
D.C. Carter
S. Lombardi & Associates
(805) 544-9220 (after hours 305-8269)
dc@slaslo.com

When the new cardiac care facilitied were completed on 2001 at Sierra Vsita Regional Medical Center, There were no limitations on what they could do. The hospital constructed a cardiac catheterization laboratory along with a dedicated six-bed CVICU and two carfiothoracis surgical suites today remain aong the best San Luis Obispo County has to offer.
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