by
Barbara Kram, Editor | March 04, 2009
"We classify and label the equipment according to the level of service provided for it," said Wheeler. "For refurbished equipment, we completely disassemble the equipment, put it in a staging bay, test it, replace worn parts, make sure it has all the current updates and feature enhancements so that they're the latest that the platform can support; then install and warranty the equipment for parts and labor for a period of a up to a year or more."
Driving Trends for the Future
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Stent placement remains the bread and butter of the cath lab along with diagnostic imaging/angiography that supports those procedures.
"What we see as growth areas are cardiologists who are treating peripheral [artery disease] in addition to coronary," said Philips' Fabian. "Where we see a huge growth in cardiology is what we call large field-of-view labs. The bigger detectors are able to image not only the coronary disease on the table but the entire patient...all the way up from their carotids down to their feet. Often you'll see cardiologists working on the blood flow in the vascular structure such as the legs or other parts of the body."
Another advancement becoming more common is the application of detailed CT and other modalities in this specialty to complement traditional X-ray fluoroscopy. CT angiography (CTA or CCTA) almost lost its Medicare reimbursement but for the outcry from the medical community in 2008. (See https://www.dotmed.com/news/story/5613.) Despite that fortunate reversal, cardiac CT imaging is not yet reimbursed by Medicare.
"Hospitals are not putting patients through a non-reimbursable procedure and they are still diagnosing in the cath lab," Fabian said. "If reimbursement changes, you will see more diagnostics going to CT, which will allow more patients to be screened because it's less invasive than a cath lab. As you are able to screen earlier you will be able to treat more patients in a cath lab."
Advancements can be seen in the shift toward hybrid cath/OR suites in which the less invasive catheter procedures can be accomplished, yet, if needed, open heart surgery can take place also. The hybrid approach is also a trend in vascular surgery.
