Cleveland-based University Hospitals had a problem. Its structural heart program was so successful that it was becoming congested, making it difficult to get patients the procedures they needed.
It’s a common predicament among heart programs that provide complex procedures at large health systems, Justin Dunn, MD, regional director of the Valve & Structural Heart Disease Center at University Hospitals Harrington Heart & Vascular Institute at UH Lake West Medical Center, said on an upcoming Becker’s podcast episode.
Instead of adding more resources to its program, leaders decided to decentralize cardiac care and take the procedures to regional community hospitals. Decentralization brings advanced care closer to patients and the increased surgery volumes can, in turn, give hospitals a financial boost.
University Hospitals began decentralizing care six months ago, starting with its transcatheter aortic valve replacement and left atrial appendage occlusion programs. Leaders were careful to structure the programs to ensure that regional community hospitals had essentially the same patient outcomes as the main campus. In only a few months, the system saw a 25% increase in volume compared to the previous year.
“Much of that growth is due to our ability to schedule procedures more quickly,” Dr. Dunn said. “Patients who previously might have waited because of space or scheduling constraints at the main campus can now be treated sooner by experienced teams using the same equipment. Overall, patients benefit from faster care and greater convenience, and the organization benefits from increased access, higher patient satisfaction, greater volumes and consistent outcomes.”
The key to success was preparing ahead to guarantee excellent patient outcomes, he said. This included creating consistency in equipment and staff training, and readying ancillary services to understand how to support cardiac procedures across the system.
Now, University Hospitals is looking to decentralize more structural heart procedures, such as mitral valve and tricuspid valve interventions.
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