The Massachusetts House and Senate have concluded their FY 2001 budget deliberations, including a community hospital-based cardiac surgery pilot program. A total of seven sites could be permitted, under the House proposal, including North Shore, South Shore, Metrowest, South Coast, Brockton, Cape Cod, and Lowell.
In the initial phase of the program, three hospitals could be considered for pilot programs by July 2001. Two more would be considered between then and July 2003, and the last two would be considered by July 2005. The proposal does not specify which hospitals would be approved first.
Applying community hospitals who apply must:
• have executed a written affiliation agreement with an academic medical center having an accredited primary cardio-thoracic surgery residency program for a term of at least five years (no single academic medical center may have affiliation agreements with more than two community hospitals).
• be operating a fixed cardiac catherization lab in accordance with standards
established by the Department of Public Health at the time of application.
• be performing at least 1,000 cardiac catheterization procedures per year or have a projected annual cardiac catheterization volume of 1,000 procedures per year by the end of the third year.
• have a projected open heart surgery volume of at least 300 procedures per year and a projected open heart surgery volume per surgeon of 100 procedures per year by the end of the third year.
• demonstrate an ability to finance any necessary capital improvements and operating expenses for said program.
• develop programs for cardiovascular disease prevention and health promotion aimed at reducing the incidence of cardiovascular disease.
• comply with clinical standards for program quality developed by the department of public health.
Finally, the bill establishes an oversight and an evaluation process for the project. Look for more details about the pilot program to follow in future issues of BWH Nurse.