Private Cath labs?

[Handsome88]

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Is it feasible for cardiologists to open their own group practice cath labs?

 

[desdinova]

Not sure this would work here in the US but I know those function pretty well in less restrictive and less litigious environment in Europe. For once you need to have CT surgery backup for elective cath here..

 

[sacrament]

Physician-owned cath labs exist in the US but are rare, and as reimbursements for cath and PCI have decreased it has become increasingly impractical from a financial standpoint.

It is not correct that a cath lab HAS to have CT surgery backup, not anymore. There are plenty of small community hospitals running cath labs without on-site surgery backup. Whether or not they should be doing so is controversial, but it is becoming a fairly widespread practice.

 

[desdinova]

Hmm.. That's surprising. I am sure you can do diagnostic Cath without CTS backup but I not elective angioplasty. Experience from Connecticut. Anyway, I agree that it's not feasible financially anymore.

 

[IMPD]

Is it feasible for cardiologists to open their own group practice cath labs?

Most states (all?) have so-called "certificate of need", which is required to open any health care facility such as a cath lab. Restrictive, monoply etc. etc. yes yes. It reduces competition, which in an open-billing system such as our own, is the necessary counter weight. If everyone were paying out of pocket for their stents, free market rules might be better. As it is.....

CONs are issued (or not) at the state level and are designed to discourage me-too ism

 

[Trifling Jester]

Extremely rare. Peripheral procedures in private labs are less rare, but still not seen often. The benefit is that you get to keep the facility fee, which is much more than the physician fee.

 

[nlax30]

Hmm.. That's surprising. I am sure you can do diagnostic Cath without CTS backup but I not elective angioplasty. Experience from Connecticut. Anyway, I agree that it's not feasible financially anymore.

We have hospitals doing PCI with on site CV surgery.... They just get transferred if emergent surgery needed.