EP Lab Digest - February 2008 - (Page 14)

14 SPOTLIGHT SPOTLIGHT Continued from page 12 INTERVIEW FEBRUARY 2008 laboratory and handled by our secretary, Aimee Belton. cath lab? How long has this been? Are employees crosstrained? The EP lab is completely separate from the cath lab — this has been the case since 1992. Although many of our nurses have prior cath lab experience, they are not crosstrained for that work environment. What type of quality control/ quality assurance measures are practiced in your EP lab? We are compliant with JCAHO National Patient Safety Goals and Core Measures in our laboratory. This includes preprocedural ASA evaluations, patient and verification measures and magnetic screening. One of the biggest compliments we receive from patients is our staff’s ability to minimize procedural anxiety through careful explanation and listening skills. Our referral base is comprehensive as we are the flagship institution within the five-hospital Caritas Christi network. Our reputation also gives us the opportunity to care for patients referred out of the network from central and Southern Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Do you have cross training inside the EP lab? What are the regulations in your state? The majority of our EP lab staff are crosstrained to perform any role necessary for all EP procedures, with the exception of bedside echocardiograms, for which we consult our echo team. Conscious sedation is administered by RNs only, and all of our staff are BLS- and ACLS-certified as mandated by the state. How is inventory managed at your EP lab? Who handles the purchasing of equipment and supplies? All inventory management is entered into our Philips/Witt database. Our chief radiology technician, Tammee Sweck, handles the responsibility of inventory purchases and restocking. At our weekly EP meetings, materials management and new product trials are discussed and delegated to the appropriate staff. Capital equipment repair and troubleshooting is handled through our Clinical Engineering department, who also manages support contracts with our vendors. How are new employees oriented and trained at your facility? The typical training process for EP allied staff consists of a six-week orientation in which a trainee is paired with a preceptor who guides the trainee through EP protocols and procedures. Prior to orientation, the trainee is given a comprehensive, evidence-based manual that he/she uses as a reference for standard operating procedures. Once a week, the trainee, preceptor and nurse educator meet to evaluate achievement of objectives and to individualize training. The entire EP lab staff participates in this process by assuming responsibility for providing the trainee with the necessary tools to be successful as a full-time staff member. What measures has your EP lab implemented in order to cut or contain costs? In addition, in what ways have you improved efficiencies in patient through-put? Through direct collaboration between the EP physicians, our chief radiology technician and the nurse managers, costeffective measures for equipment orders and bulk purchase programs are analyzed at our weekly staff meetings. In the laboratory, pre-programmed ablation protocols optimize procedure duration to facilitate patient through-put and minimize radiation exposure to patients and staff. For implants, operative equipment is prepackaged, which further improves efficiency. What new equipment, devices and/or products have been introduced at your lab lately? How has this changed the way you perform those procedures? All of our EP monitoring equipment mapping and ablation systems were new in 2005. The addition of Stereotaxis and Philips imaging technology has been our most important enhancement. The latest advancement featuring an overlay of three-dimensional rotational angiography or a CT image upon live fluoroscopy is most exciting. Has your EP lab recently expanded in size and patient volume, or will it be in the near future? Our EP lab expansion occurred in 2005; we currently have no plans to add more labs. Our volume, however, remains steady and we anticipate an upward trend to continue for next year. What types of continuing education opportunities are provided to staff members? We have one staff meeting per week on a rotating schedule that provides one educational session per month for the EP allied staff.These sessions are usually interactive cases presented by the EP fellow. In addition, all staff members are given opportunities through our device vendors to attend outside educational seminars.We also provide opportunities for a number of staff to attend the annual Heart Rhythm Society meeting. How has managed care affected your EP lab and the care it provides patients? Managed care has helped to improve our operational efficiency but has not affected our status as a center of excellence in the cardiology community. What procedures do you perform on an outpatient basis? Most of our diagnostic EP procedures, elective ablations and device generator changes are performed as outpatient procedures. Our holding area procedures include DC cardioversions, ICD defibrillator threshold testing and tilt table testing. Who handles your procedure scheduling? Do you use particular software? Our coordinator, Roseann Vescio, schedules all procedures in our lab and the cath lab via the IDX scheduling system. Add-on cases are called directly into our Have you developed a referral base? See SPOTLIGHT page 16 From left to right: Michael Orlov, MD, Director of EP Research; Charles Haffajee, MD, Director of EP; and Tom Marchese, EP Engineer. Drs. Peter Hahn and G.M. Chaudhry at the Stereotaxis navigation controls.

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of EP Lab Digest - February 2008

EP Lab Digest - February 2008 Creating the U-M Center for Arrhythmia Research: Interview with José Jalife, MD Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute and St. David’s Medical Center Launch State-of-the-Art Training Center Contents Letter from the Editor Spotlight Interview: Caritas St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center 10-Minute Interview: Sue Deck, BS, RN, RCES Keeping Pace With a Blog Roundtable Discussion on Cryoablation Procedures Email Discussion Group: February 2008 Events Calendar Industry News and Products Classifieds Advertisers Index

EP Lab Digest - February 2008

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