VHA unveils dashboard for cardiac departments, cath labs

VHA has launched its Cardiac Performance Dashboard, a management tool that allows hospital administrators and clinicians to monitor, manage and forecast their cardiac department’s clinical, financial and operational performance in real time.

According to VHA, its Cardiac Performance Dashboard has large, color-coded dials that allow administrators to detect and respond to trends and events using current information. The hospital administrators, medical staff and clinicians can apply information about the cost of care, clinical quality measures and patient experience data, allowing the hospital to target areas for improvement by the hour.

The company said its dashboard allows hospitals to monitor clinical effectiveness and operational efficiency in the cath lab, electrophysiology lab and cardiac rhythm management departments.

According to the healthcare alliance, cath labs often generate a significant portion of a hospital’s cardiology revenue and expenses. More than 2,000 U.S. hospitals have cardiac cath labs. In 2007, hospitals spent more than $21.5 billion on interventional cardiology and cardiac rhythm management devices to perform more than one million cath lab procedures.

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