SCPC is fulfilling its mission to reduce cardiac-related deaths by giving facilities the opportunity to improve their processes and outcomes for these patients through A-fib Certification.
We are uniquely qualified to help hospitals critically appraise evaluation, treatment, and management of atrial fibrillation patients. Our A-Fib tools help evaluate strategies against nationally recognized guidelines and recommendations with the intention of improving processes.
Atrial Fibrillation (a-fib) has become recognized as a cardiac health concern that in many cases can lead to stroke and death. There are currently nearly 3 million cases in the U.S. and, by 2050, it is projected that over 7.5 million people will have a-fib.
Results from the Framingham and Rotterdam epidemiology studies indicate that people at the age of 40 have a one-in-four risk of developing a-fib in their lifetimes.
A-fib is currently responsible for 15-20% of all reported strokes and, it has been shown that up to one-third of patients with a-fib and a stroke were not known to have a-fib until their stroke. Medicare studies have found that a-fib patients are four times more likely to be hospitalized for cardiovascular issues compared to those without a-fib and two times more likely to die in the hospital.
The current annual cost of direct a-fib care in the U.S. is over $6 billion, rising to $26 billion when accounting for associated co-morbidities and indirect costs. Healthcare reform has targeted conditions that are associated with atrial fibrillation for quality improvement and reporting. It is entirely possible that atrial fibrillation will become another target for the new reimbursement triad which includes quality delivery of healthcare, reduction of costs, and patient satisfaction.
Refrences:
Need to find the best heart hospitals in the world? Our hospitals listed have passed rigorous testing and process improvement to become recognized as one of the Society's elite certified facilities.
Find certified facilities in: |
In response to this epidemic and the obvious needs of this patient population, the Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care has developed tools and resources giving facilities the opportunity to improve their processes and outcomes for these patients through A-fib Certification. As is the case with Chest Pain Center and Heart Failure Accreditation (also offered by the Society), these tools allow facilities to evaluate their strategies against nationally recognized guidelines, recommendations, and research with the intention of improving processes. Process improvement is considered in the following ten areas known as Key Elements:
The first steps toward certification are to assemble your team, and determine where you are in the assessment, treatment, and management of a-fib patients in comparison with nationally recognized guidelines and standards. With the help of the Society tools you can begin to determine what processes need to improve for the best possible care of these patients. Some processes may encompass the role and education of the EMS, discharge planning and education, the competency and education of the staff, and awareness in the community.
Using the Society tools as a guide, create and gather the documentation required to demonstrate the processes used to accomplish the certification criteria.
Complete the on-line certification documents which include an application, business agreement, data collection, and criteria array.
Once the application is submitted, it is reviewed by a Review Specialist who will work with you to develop a detailed report describing how your facility meets the criteria for Atrial Fibrillation Certification.
This report will be submitted to a physician-based Review Committee who will determine the final status of certification.
The A-fib Certification manual may be purchased from this website and contains the four documents to be completed and submitted online:
The tool contains the key elements, essential items, and best practices that will be used for the gap analysis and reporting. A notebook must be submitted with all of the documentation to support each item you select in the tool. Once all of the required documents are received, they will undergo an internal review by the Accreditation Review Team to determine certification status. A formal site visit will not be conducted. A facility seeking A-fib Certification must be currently accredited by SCPC as a Chest Pain Center or Chest Pain Center with PCI.
A notebook must be submitted with all of the documentation to support each item you select in the tool. The major difference with A-fib Certification is that a site visit will not be performed. Once all of the documents are submitted, they will undergo an internal review by the Accreditation Review Team and Committee to determine certification status.
Process improvement is considered in key areas including:
"Going through this process helped us immensely! Prior to going through the rigor required to address the items in the tool, we didn't have a good handle on everything we were doing for our a-fib patients. We knew we were giving great care, and this just helped to prove it!"
Myra Ricceri, PMP, CLSSGB, FLMI, ACS
Sr. Operations Project Manager
Alegent Health
"The Atrial Fibrillation Certification process helped our facility evaluate our care processes for the atrial fibrillation patient. We used the certification tool to perform a gap analysis and identify areas for process improvement. It brought together a multi-disciplinary team that represented EMS, ED, pharmacy, education, EP lab, nursing units, cardiac rehab, and community education. It was exciting to see our department representatives working together to achieve a common goal which was to improve care to our atrial fibrillation patients. Overall, it was a very positive process."
Cathy Huggins, RN, MSN
Chest Pain and Heart Failure Coordinator
Genesis Healthcare System – Good Samaritan Campus
Deepak L. Bhatt, MD, FACC, FAHA, FSCAl, FESC, FACP, FCCP
Chief of Cardiology
VA Boston Healthcare System
Deepak L. Bhatt is Chief of Cardiology at VA Boston Healthcare System and Director of the Integrated Interventional Cardiovascular Program at Brigham and Women's Hospital and VA Boston Healthcare System. He is also a Senior Investigator in the TIMI Study Group and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.
After graduating as valedictorian from the Boston Latin School, Dr. Bhatt obtained his undergraduate science degree as a National Merit Scholar at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, while also serving as a research associate at Harvard Medical School. He received his medical doctorate from Cornell University. He completed a Masters in Public Health with a concentration in clinical effectiveness at Harvard University. His internship and residency in internal medicine were performed at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, and his cardiovascular training was completed at the Cleveland Clinic. He also completed fellowships in interventional cardiology and cerebral and peripheral vascular intervention, as well as serving as Chief Interventional Fellow, at the Cleveland Clinic where he went on to spend several years as an interventional cardiologist and an Associate Professor of Medicine. He served for many years as the Director of the Interventional Cardiology Fellowship and as Associate Director of the Cardiovascular Medicine Fellowship. He also served as the Associate Director of the Cleveland Clinic Cardiovascular Coordinating Center. Dr. Bhatt was listed in Best Doctors in America from 2005 to 2012.
Dr. Bhatt has authored or co-authored over 500 publications. He is on numerous editorial boards. Dr. Bhatt has been a visiting lecturer at several prestigious institutions throughout the world. He has been interviewed extensively by news agencies on topics ranging from premature coronary artery disease to the role of inflammation and genetics in heart attacks.
W. Frank Peacock IV, MD
Emergency Department
Associate Chair and Director of Research
Baylor College of Medicine
Dr. Peacock has served in numerous hospital positions and is currently chairman of the Emergency Preparedness Committee and medical director of Event Medicine at Cleveland Clinic. The Event Medicine program provides medical care for all of the major sports and entertainment teams in Cleveland, including Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Indians and Cleveland Cavaliers.
Dr. Peacock is currently the President of SCPC Board of Trustees. He previously served as chairman of the Chest Pain Center Accreditation Committee for the Society of Chest Pain. He has been an active national, regional and state speaker at numerous cardiology and emergency medicine meetings for the last 15 years.
Dr. Peacock has also published widely, especially in the area of heart failure and acute coronary syndromes. With over 125 publications and an equal number of published abstracts, he is also Co-Editor of the book, Cardiac Emergencies, and is currently working on the second edition of the text Short Stay Management of Heart Failure.
Phil Beckley, PhD
Atrial Fibrillation Clinical Specialist
SCPC
Dr. Beckley, joined the Society of Cardivascular Patient Care nearly five years ago with a clinical background in cardiopulmonary perfusion. He served as the Perfusion Education Program Director at The Ohio State University for two decades, and is currently appointed as Emeritus faculty in the College of Medicine. With his doctorate in Physiology, Dr. Beckley's research and publications focused primarily on the effects of artificial circulation devices on the cardio-respiratory system.
Login today and start the process.
Are you ready?
Read how one SCPC Certified hospital was recognized nationally for its A-fib excellence. Click here to read the article.
Web Sponsor
Web Sponsor
QUICK LINKS | RESOURCES | CONNECT | CONTACT US | ||||
|
Process Improvement |
|
Speak with a Society of 877-271-4176 toll free |
© 2012 Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care. All rights reserved. |
Formerly known as the Society of Chest Pain Centers, the Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care will focus on facility accreditation and certification for Chest Pain Centers, Acute Coronary Syndromes (ACS), Heart Failure (HF), and Atrial Fibrillation (A-fib). In addition, SCPC will provide certification for Chest Pain Center Coordinators, nurses, administrators and Chief Financial Officers looking to be compliant with CMS guidelines for Quality, Cost and Customer Satisfaction. |
