Cardiovascular Business - September/October 2008 - (Page 12) Market Share StrategieS › By Sarah L amBerti technologies that help You Sustain a Competitive Edge Whether it’s the latest Ct scanner, wireless eCg transmission from the field, or hybrid lab, facilities and practices are capitalizing on those technologies that will help them carve out a niche in the cardiovascular marketplace. ompetition is fierce within the cardiovascular industry and healthcare consumerism has become prevalent. While this consumerism does not translate into a patient deciding which stent or catheter should be used in a procedure, it does mean organizations have started to consider the patient, who is demanding quality and safe services provided in a timely, wellcommunicated way, as they work to gain a competitive edge. The newest technologies are simply expected as part of the entire care package, otherwise, patients could go “shopping” elsewhere. Cardiovascular Business spoke with a cardiology practice, a small community hospital and a health system hospital to find out how they are utilizing technologies to sustain a competitive edge. C 64-slice CT and 3D EP mapping Sixty-four-slice CT has helped Cardiology Associates, a 28-physician practice in Mobile, Ala., gain more referrals and increase market share, according to Vance Chunn, CEO and administrator. Since adopting GE Healthcare’s 64-slice LightSpeed VCT in April 2005, the practice has performed more than 4,300 coronary CT angiography scans, and total procedure volume has grown 10 percent per year since the first year, as Medicare and many insurers now cover cardiac CTA. The application of 64-slice CT has spilled over into other areas of cardiology for Chunn’s practice, particularly in the electrophysiology (EP) and peripheral vascular arenas. Utilizing CT in EP procedures as a preliminary look at the anatomy shortens procedure time by creating a more accurate map of the heart. In peripheral vascular cases, CT speeds up interventional procedures by creating a roadmap of kidney or leg blockages. Within EP, Chunn says another valuable technology has been EnSite 3D mapping software from St. Jude Medical. “Now the technology exists so that EP docs can go inside the heart and ablate certain Using the enSite noncontact array multi-electrode catheter, electrophysiologists can rapidly collect real-time cardiac electrical information and translate it into a 3D isopotential map. Source: St. Jude medical 12 Cardiovascular Business September/October 2008
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