FIRST NATIONAL CV SURVEY BENCHMARKS CRITERIA FOR OPERATIONAL SUCCESS
Many Cardiovascular Programs are Expanding without Key Information to Bolster Strategy

April 16, 2004 - Pittsburgh, PA—Corazon Consulting, a national leader in providing specialized consulting services to hospitals for development of cardiovascular programs, today released the top level findings of a comprehensive study focusing on cardiac practices and operations. Although there is a wealth of clinical cardiac information available, there is scant information available to help health care organizations compare and benchmark their cardiovascular (CV) operations against other programs. The study gathered data from more than 100 organizations across the country representing academic, tertiary and community hospitals in addition to regional medical centers . Referred to as the Corazon National Benchmarking Survey, the findings establish key cost and quality performance indicators for hospitals to use to track cardiovascular program success now, and in the future. 

Susan Heck, Director at Corazon Consulting, reinforced the need for operational-level benchmarking comparatives, “The competition for the growing cardiac population is fierce with our data showing 78% of surveyed hospitals planning to expand or renovate their cardiac infrastructure this year.” Heck added, “Given the pressure to succeed, it’s critical that cardiac programs strategically select their care options while efficiently managing their operations. However, results show that only 10% of CV programs actually measure profit and loss and other operational indicators which may impact program success if key opportunities to optimize efficiency are overlooked.”

The survey examined five areas for cardiovascular program success and found the following:

Program Design: Regardless of organization type or size, the most critical issues facing CV programs are costs of technology, operating expenses, and payor reimbursement. Organizations with a service line structure in place have a strategic advantage allowing management and doctors to rapidly make decisions that impact costs, however, only 62% of participants reported having a service line model. Relative to major expenditures, 78% of respondents are planning a new facility renovation with Cath Labs and cardiac beds identified as the most common and vascular centers and heart failure programs topping the list of new programs being planned.

Operations Management : Improving quality while gaining operational efficiencies remain key challenges. Sixty-eight percent of operations are plagued by on time starts and scheduling issues. Delays impact efficient delivery, and 32% of participants reported scheduling delays in the CVOR and 40% in the Cath Lab. Along with managing these operational costs, expensive new technology and devices such as drug eluting stents (DES) offer less invasive alternatives to traditional surgical approaches. The challenge is managing costs and quality while determining when and how to adopt new technology and drugs. Those surveyed offering DES anticipate almost 70% utilization within the year, yet only 47% have developed guidelines to manage DES use.

Fiscal Management : Quality is king but financial management must run on a parallel track—only 10% surveyed measure profit and loss for their CV program, and 43% do not have a CV service line operating budget. Dedicating financial resources to CV management is an important strategy for making strategic fiscal and business decisions which helps progressive programs capitalize on market opportunities and improve overall program success. Benchmarking is strong with 52% measuring financial results against external benchmarks and 67% measuring against internal benchmarks.

Quality Management : Choosing the most significant clinical, fiscal and satisfaction parameters to monitor is critical to initiating and prioritizing improvements. The most successful programs aggregate and analyze care process trends across the full continuum of cardiac care, and 59% report having this type of quality assurance process in place. However, 44% of those surveyed do not provide a dedicated cardiac-specific Case Manager, which has been shown to optimize efficiency & decrease length of stay. A strong case management program should include protocols, pathways and standardized orders. Readmission rates should also be tracked, yet 29% aren’t currently tracking this and 31% also don’t track patient satisfaction.

Information Management : Less than half (42%) have a cardiac-specific information system in place and just over a third, 36%, provide remote access to images for physicians. The survey group was split between retrospective and concurrent chart review for patient data collection and analysis. Although access to real-time clinical data is challenging for hospitals to implement, it clearly increases quality of care, speeds clinical decision-making, and improves physician efficiency. Those organizations that have found a way to use information technology to its fullest potential can better manage the care process, improve outcomes and increase patient and physician satisfaction.

Corazon is a national leader in specialized consulting services for cardiovascular program development. Corazon combines business planning, market and financial analysis, feasibility studies, clinical operations, Heart Hospital design, best practice benchmarking, and staff education for newly established or existing programs. Corazon is a 2003 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Company.

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