Reference no: EM133274358

The cardiology department of Smithville Community Hospital wants to expand the cardiovascular lab to include additional procedure rooms and equipment. Several cardiologists have mentioned that there seems to be an increase in the number of patients and number of cardiac procedures performed. The hospital CIO was asked to evaluate the request and provide an initial report to the Board of Directors. The CIO worked with the VP of clinical operations to write the report. Using the physician and procedure indices within EHR, the CIO and VP completed a 10-year historical analysis of all cardiac patients and procedures. They identified inpatient and outpatient procedures, documented the number of outpatients who were also cardiac inpatients at some point, and reviewed wait times for scheduling of procedures. Four years of historical data was available in the current EHR for wait-time analysis. The previous system was not able to track wait times for scheduling.

The CIO and VP identified financial data, including cost analysis of each procedure, how reimbursement of procedure varied by type of insurance, average length of stay (if inpatient), profit margins of each procedure, and MS-DRG analysis performed on inpatient cases. They performed physician profiles to identify which and how many procedures were performed by each cardiologist. Using external data provided by the city government and local economic development council, the CIO and VP made population projections for the next 20 years and found an increase in the local population of the over-50 age group. They generated anticipated cardiac services and procedures using predictive statistical modeling.

Based on the information the CIO and VP collected, they projected how many additional staff members and physicians might be needed and made space allocations for the increased number of procedure rooms. They are currently investigating the cost of additional equipment needed and completing a renovation budget and timeline. They expect to present their findings to the board by the end of the first quarter, and a final decision should be reached by the end of July.

1. Identify and describe at least three new cardiac procedures that are projected to make a significant impact on the delivery of cardiac services in the next two decades.

2. Identify and explain projected growth patterns in the US population in the over-50 age groups.

3. Identify and elaborate on the various types of medical/physician specialists, nursing personnel, occupational/physical/cardiac therapists, cardiac surgical/technical staff needed for services to be provided - both inpatient and outpatient.