Have you had any cath lab related complications in the past year requiring emergent cardiac surgery?
We had one. During a PCI, the guiding catheter caused trauma to the right coronary artery creating a spiral dissection requiring emergent surgery. What measures has your cath lab implemented in order to cut or contain costs? We have implemented a few different approaches: We negotiate contracts with vendors for additional discounts and rebates. Utilizing our Apollo32 database, we can show vendors exactly what our historical usage has been and guarantee them a certain volume of product. We do bulk buys and other special buys to decrease costs. We have done some creative staffing with 8, 9 and 10 hour shifts, which has resulted in decreased overtime and increased staff satisfaction. We also have implemented part-time positions. Up until three years ago, we only had full-time positions. This has really helped to increase our flexibility. An efficient lab with a great deal of teamwork allows us to do 30 cases in three rooms between 7:30am and 5:00pm with minimal overtime. We also employ a
