Among Surgical Care Affiliates’ (SCA) 260-plus facilities in the US, at least 10% have added cardiovascular/peripheral vascular service capabilities. SCA experts anticipate more growth in this area. However, any successful launch starts with an organizational focus on patient safety, says Ezra Erb, vice president for clinical quality at SCA, which…

Read More

Editor's Note According to the 2022 Key ASC Benchmarks and Industry Figures report published by Avanza Healthcare Strategies, an ASC consulting firm, cardiology is the fastest growing ASC specialty, Becker’s ASC Review March 10 reports. The Avanza report was released on March 8 and is a “compilation of recently [as…

Read More

Editor's Note In this study, researchers report the 2-year outcomes for patients enrolled in the Evolut Low Risk Trial (Medtronic Evolut Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement in Low Risk Patients), which show that transcather aortic valve replacement (TAVR) with a supra-annular, self-expanding valve is noninferior to surgical aortic valve replacement (AVR).…

Read More

Editor's Note This multi-center, randomized, clinical trial that compares on-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) with off-pump CABG finds no advantage for off-pump CABG. A total of 2,203 veterans were randomly assigned to off-pump (1,104) or on-pump (1,099) CABG procedures at 18 VA medical centers, and the veterans were then…

Read More

Editor's Note The Joint Commission, on February 13, announced that it has partnered with the American Heart Association (AHA) to develop a new advanced disease-specific care certification program for heart attack patient care. The Comprehensive Heart Attack Center (CHAC) Certification Program (CHAC), which is based on AHA clinical practice guidelines…

Read More

Editor's Note The Joint Commission announced on February 9 that it will add requirements and expand the review process to 2-days for Primary Stroke Centers (PSCs) that provide mechanical thrombectomy (MT) and are seeking advanced certification or recertification, effective July 1, 2022. The additional tracer time and requirements will help…

Read More

Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration, on December 16, identified the recall by Getinge/Datascope/Maquet of its Cardiosave Hybrid and Cardiosave Rescue Intra-Aortic Balloon Pumps (IABPs) as Class I, the most serious. The IABPs are cardiac assist devices used in patients having cardiac and noncardiac surgery and to treat patients…

Read More

Editor's Note This study by researchers at Indiana University and the University of Michigan finds that emergency departments (EDs) are a significant factor in preventing readmissions after major surgery. Researchers analyzed the electronic health records of nearly 2 million Medicare beneficiaries who had one of five surgical procedures (ie, percutaneous…

Read More

Editor's Note This study from the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and James Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbus, Ohio, finds that patients residing in vulnerable communities characterized by a high social vulnerability index (SVI) had worse postoperative outcomes, and the impact was most pronounced in Black/minority patients. In this analysis…

Read More

Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), on October 29, identified the recall by Datascope/Getinge/Maquet of its Cardiosave Hybrid/Rescue Intra-Aortic Balloon Pump battery packs as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated because of the risk of the battery failing and having a shortened run time, which…

Read More