Putting patients first and bringing efficiency to cardiac workflows
By Philips ∙ Featuring Dr. Carol Melvin, Dr. Constantino S. Peña, MD ∙ Sep 01, 2021 ∙ 5 min read
Integrated, patient-centric care requires technologies that ease the working environment for physicians by improving their workflows, enabling them to make fast diagnostic decisions based on data and insights and allowing them to seamlessly accomplish their treatment and diagnostic tasks. Integrated patient-centered cardiac and vascular care, diagnostic imaging and smart automation play a key role in this. As one of the largest and most experienced cardiovascular practices in South Florida, Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute delivers a team-based approach to patient care that includes physicians, advanced practice providers, clinical pharmacists and support staff. This innovative team model provides more coordinated care and an enhanced patient experience.
Customer story
Executive perspectives: Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute Baptist Health
This customer story focuses on:
Dr. Carol Melvin, Chief Operating Officer and Dr. Constantino S. Peña, MD, Medical Director, discuss the patient and staff benefits of Philips Ingenia Ambition with Compressed SENSE technology.
Cardiology informatics: putting data first puts patients first
Dr. Carol Melvin cites a data-first approach as the primary reason Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute is successful in running a high case volume. “One method to building strong teams is to make data transparent to everyone and create an environment where they can discuss the findings,” says Dr. Carol Melvin.
Daily, weekly and monthly reports generated by Philips Cardiovascular Workspace and Xper Information Management with Xper Flex Cardio have a direct effect on improving quality and performance. “Using Xper, an interventional cardiologist can look at turnaround data and discover that the procedure teams are taking longer than others even though they have the same staff,” Melvin explains. “Cardiologists can talk to each other about the data, learn new techniques and build on each other’s skills.” The team was also able to look at prep time for transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) procedures and benchmark it against other facilities. The data reveal that they had bottlenecks. They were able to take steps to get patients ready in a more timely way without impacting the quality of care. “We used to do two TAVR procedures a day, now we do three by 3:00 pm,” she says.
“To build a strong, collaborative team requires rethinking the way clinical specialties work together. We’ve taken great steps to break down silos across the health system."
Dr. Carol Melvin Chief Operating Officer Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute Baptist Health South Florida Miami, Florida, USA
Detailed clinical findings in Philips Cardiovascular Workspace can also be queried and analyzed. Structured reports for echocardiograms can be searched to find the number of patients who have significant aortic stenosis. “IntelliSpace Cardiovascular helps physicians’ workflows so they can make faster diagnostic decisions based on insights and accomplish their treatment and diagnostic tasks in one system,” Dr. Carol Melvin says.
Four pillars for a successful analytics strategy:
1. Data – Information management foundation, data governance and data standardization 2. Technology – Appropriate technology platform 3. People – Organizational structure and role definitions, centers of excellence and involvement of operational leaders 4. Process – Information as enterprise asset, standardization of workflow and adoption
Bringing together quality, patient comfort and workflow
“Challenges facing us every day are how to maximize our image quality in order to answer diagnostic questions for our patients,” says interventional radiologist Dr. Constantino Peña, MD, the Institute’s Medical Director of Vascular Imaging. “In selecting an MRI machine, we wanted state-of-the-art technology that was easy to install, easy to use and that would be easy on the patient. But most definitely, it had to give us high-quality images. That’s how we settled on the Ingenia Ambition.”
Philips Ingenia Ambition has the industry’s first fully sealed Philips BlueSeal magnet that contains just seven liters (vs 1,500 liters) of liquid helium and is completely sealed so helium cannot escape, which helps increase operational efficiency. Its lighter weight, smaller footprint and ability to operate without a vent pipe simplify system siting. According to the institute’s team, the most impressive attribute of Philips Ingenia Ambition is a combination of speed and exceptional quality of imaging, workflow enhancers and patient comfort solutions.
Smart workflows keep a caring eye on the patient
VitalEye smart sensing on Philips MR systems is contributing to fast exams with superior* image quality. VitalEye brings a unique patient sensing approach, enabling respiratory signal without any interaction from the operator.
Dr. Peña explains how this MR system automation allows for shorter breath-holds and the value it brings for patients and staff. “As soon as the patient is placed on the system, the VitalEye is trying to look at the respiratory rate and already tagging that. As soon as you close the door, it can start scanning. We’re able to manipulate these segments to lower breath-holds. This has made a significant improvement in our image quality.”
“Data must be usable, accurate and actionable,” summarizes Dr. Carol Melvin. “That leads to better efficiencies and better patient care.” At the institute, teams start by understanding data first and then use that data to guide solutions, rather than invest in equipment and then try to understand the data.
“Philips fine-tunes solutions for each healthcare enterprise. They understand the care we’re providing and have incredible cardiology solutions not being addressed by other vendors. That allows us to be nimble.”
Dr. Carol Melvin
Chief Operating Officer, Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute
Baptist Health South Florida
Miami, Florida, USA
“Philips fine-tunes solutions for each healthcare enterprise. They understand the care we’re providing and have incredible cardiology solutions not being addressed by other vendors. That allows us to be nimble,” says Dr. Carol Melvin. Partnering with Philips, the institute’s approach to data usage and governance is key to their future growth and their primary mission: improved patient experience, better health outcomes, improved staff experience and lower cost of healthcare.
These are a few examples of the Philips cardiology solutions that Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute teams use every day to deliver the best possible care to their patients.
Subscribe to our email updates
Scalable, interoperable image and information management
Footnotes
*Compared to Philips belt-based signal. Requires an unobstructed line of sight. Results from case studies are not predictive of results in other cases. Results in other cases may vary.
