1:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
GENERAL SESSIONS
1:30 p.m. - 2:15 p.m.
Join us for an in-depth exploration of essential strategies for team collaboration. This session will illustrate the parallels between successful sports teams and high-functioning healthcare teams. Applying real-world tactics from the athletic field to the healthcare environment, this engaging, practical and passionate Master of the American College of Cardiology will:
Speaker: John P. Erwin III, MD, MBA, MACC, FACP, FAHA, Chair of Medicine, Prisma Health-Upstate; Academic Chair and Professor of Medicine, University of South Carolina-Greenville; Clinical Professor, University of South Carolina
2:15 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
This dynamic panel discussion will explore the future of cardiovascular care beyond traditional hospital settings. Industry leaders will share their firsthand experiences in building and expanding ambulatory programs in cardiac PET, cardiac computed tomography (CT), and ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs). Attendees will gain actionable insights into overcoming operational challenges, navigating reimbursement hurdles, and driving clinical excellence in outpatient settings.
Speakers:
Moderator: Jaime Warren, Ed.D., MBA, BHS, CNMT, NCT, Vice President, Care Transformation Services,
3:00 p.m. - 3:45 p.m.
The MedAxiom team will delve into MedAxcess subspecialty data, showing the wide variability among “like” groups. While all cardiology subspecialties will be reviewed, the focus will be around interventional cardiology, advanced heart failure (HF), advanced imaging and structural heart. Speakers will explore the data around work relative value unit ratios from clinical activities and data storytelling strategies from a fair market perspective.
Speakers:
4:15 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
This session will outline the models and experiences of two different organizations and their use of virtual care in their programs. Attendees will understand the value and benefits of providing virtual care for both patients and organizations. In addition to outlining the approach, speakers will share outcomes achieved by each program.
Speakers:
Moderator: Nicole F. Knight, LPN, CPC, CCS-P, Executive Vice President, Revenue Cycle Solutions and Care Transformation Services, MedAxiom
5:00p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
During this session, attendees will view the broad landscape of cardiovascular innovation and AI in the healthcare environment. Based on the current state of affairs in cardiovascular innovation, the speaker will outline how to develop a care transformation plan customized for attendees' programs. This session will also provide tools and frameworks to govern the responsible implementation of healthcare innovations to maximize the positive impact on cardiovascular care.
Speaker: Vimal Ramjee, MD, FACC, National Chair of Cardiology and Innovation and Enterprise/System Clinical Governance, Physician Executive, CommonSpirit Health; Board of Directors, American Heart Association
7:15 a.m. - 7:45 a.m.
EDUCATIONAL SPOTLIGHT BREAKFAST SESSION
Intensive Cardiac Rehab (ICR) for Clinical, Operational and Financial Success: Implementation of Pritikin ICR at Heart and Vascular Care *No recording available*
Sponsored by Pritikin
As cardiac rehabilitation evolves, hospitals and physician practices alike are reimagining delivery models to enhance patient outcomes, improve operational efficiency, and achieve financial sustainability. This session will feature insights from Heart and Vascular Care on their successful implementation of ICR.
Presenters – including site leaders and MedAxiom experts – will share real-world strategies for resourceful and innovative solutions to space constraints and staffing resources, as well as engaging providers and patients while achieving positive financial margins. Attendees will learn about scaling ICR programs to drive clinical, operational and financial success while improving access to high-quality cardiac rehabilitation.
Speakers:
Moderator: Denise Busman, MSN, RN, CPHQ, FACC, Vice President, Care Transformation Services, MedAxiom
12:00 p.m. - 12:30 p.m.
EDUCATIONAL SPOTLIGHT LUNCH SESSIONS
Optimizing Cardiovascular Care: Innovations in AI and Efficiency Enhancement
Sponsored by NextGen
Join us for an insightful discussion designed for cardiovascular business professionals. This session will explore key strategies for enhancing clinical and operational efficiency within the sector.
Topics include:
Speaker: Paula Furcron, Director of Specialty Solutions, NextGen Healthcare
PET/CT Beyond the Hype: Practice Integration From Finances to Operations
Sponsored by Catalyst MedTech
In the last 18 months, the speakers have been involved with several of the same medical practices that have invested in and/or implemented cardiac PET/CT imaging into their practices. These experiences highlighted the need for a high degree of partnership and collaboration between management services organizations, like CardioOne, and equipment companies, like Catalyst, across many critical dimensions required to make a PET/CT program successful. This presentation will provide valuable context on those dimensions - from financing, to technological integration, to billing and prior authorization management - to address not only how to build a PET/CT program, but also how to operate one to ensure its success.
Speakers:
Optimize Your Coronary CTA Program With Heartflow's CAD Management Platform
Sponsored by Heartflow
Join us for a discussion of the Heartflow Platform, including the Heartflow Plaque Analysis. Faculty will review the utility of the Heartflow Platform in their daily clinical practice, how the reimbursement landscape is evolving, and where CT-based technologies are changing patient care.
Speakers:
Moderator: Denise Busman, MSN, RN, CPHQ, FACC, Vice President, Care Transformation Services, MedAxiom
12:45 p.m. - 1:10 p.m.
BREAKOUT SESSIONS
This session will deliver practical solutions to solve new patient and follow-up appointment delays. The speaker will provide a framework for programs to see more patients, increase new patient visits and consults, and protect physicians’ time from unnecessary tasks.
Speaker: Jacob Corbell, MBA, CEO, Midwest Cardiovascular Institute
This presentation explores the frequent obstacles encountered during the pre-authorization process for cardiac PET imaging and provides actionable strategies to overcome them. Attendees will learn to identify and sidestep common errors that lead to delays or denials, such as incomplete documentation, insufficient clinical justification and improper coding. The session will offer practical tips for streamlining the pre-authorization workflow, including effective communication techniques with insurance providers and best practices for assembling compelling medical necessity arguments. By mastering these techniques, healthcare professionals can significantly improve their pre-authorization success rates, reduce administrative burdens, and ensure timely access to cardiac PET imaging for their patients.
Speaker: Rupa Sanghani, MD, Rush University Medical Center
Effective revenue management is critical for the financial sustainability of cardiovascular programs. This session will provide actionable insights into identifying revenue leakage, repairing gaps, and implementing strategies to enhance financial performance.
With a focus on both revenue integrity and repair, the session will explore practical approaches to recovering lost revenue, streamlining workflows, and aligning practices with regulatory compliance. This is an essential discussion for healthcare leaders seeking to maximize return on investment and ensure a financially healthy practice while maintaining quality care delivery.
Speakers:
During this session, speakers will identify the factors driving the adoption of nurse-led sedation (NLS), a promising approach to improving TAVR procedure resource utilization. The speaker will recommend operational strategies for NLS for TAVR procedures to help centers manage and increase their procedural capacity and throughput. Attendees will learn about the potential benefits of NLS for TAVR for patients, staff and healthcare systems to manage and increase their procedural capacity and throughput.
Speaker: Anthony Tae-Young Sonn, MD, Interventional Cardiologist, Mercy St. Louis
1:15 p.m. - 1:40 p.m.
BREAKOUT SESSIONS
This session will explore the expanding role of AI platforms available to clinical teams. Speakers from MedStar Health will share insights from initial beta testing of AI tools for their cardiovascular program, highlighting the system-level use of AI-driven ambient dictation to enhance workflow efficiency and clinical documentation. Additionally, speakers will discuss post-implementation optimization activities to maximize the effectiveness of these platforms. Attendees will understand the current limitations of AI and consider potential solutions to overcome these challenges.
Speakers:
As flurpiridaz emerges as a promising radiopharmaceutical for cardiac PET imaging, it presents unique operational challenges that require strategic planning for successful integration. This session will explore the key considerations for incorporating flurpiridaz into cardiac imaging workflows, including multi-dosing logistics, scheduling and coordination with key stakeholders. Attendees will gain insights into managing dose utilization, optimizing workflow efficiency, and addressing scheduling complexities to enhance patient access and ensure sustainable operations. By understanding these roadblocks and adopting best practices, healthcare leaders can position their cardiac PET programs for long-term success.
Speakers:
This session will explore factors influencing the number of full-time equivalents (FTEs) required to adequately staff a cath/electrophysiology (EP) lab, considering procedural complexity, case mix and on-call requirements. Speakers will discuss how to collect and use metrics like wait times, procedural backlogs and annual case growth trends as indicators for expansion. Attendees will be able to calculate the optimal number of cases that can be safely and efficiently performed per day in a cath/EP lab.
Speakers:
This session will use a case study to share best practices for post-discharge follow-up in the HF program at Wellstar. Speakers will provide background on the need for establishing the program. The session will also review integral resources and components of the program for other institutions interested in establishing their own programs.
Speaker: Vedetta Caldwell, CPC, CPM, Assistant Director of Patient Operations, Wellstar
1:45 p.m. - 2:10 p.m.
BREAKOUT SESSIONS
Efficient daily operations are the cornerstone of a successful cardiac computed tomography (CT) program. This session will provide cardiovascular leaders with best practices for creating patient-centered schedules, optimizing staffing models, and ensuring seamless coordination with reading physicians. The discussion will highlight strategies for balancing patient throughput with quality care and practical workflows for scheduling, technologist assignments and patient flow. Additional topics will include streamlined approaches to ordering, pre-authorization, and accurate coding and billing to support operational sustainability. Attendees will leave equipped with actionable insights to improve day-to-day operations and strengthen their cardiac CT program.
Speaker: Sheri Krueger, EMBA, Director of Cardiovascular Services, Heart and Vascular Institute of Wisconsin
This session will explore the impact of strong leadership by examining two organizations’ approaches to team-based care. Attendees will consider the potential outcomes when strong leadership is implemented within the care team.
Speakers:
This session will review the results of a single-center, retrospective cohort study demonstrating how the Wellstar Health System Advanced Heart Failure (AHF) program implemented a multi-tiered approach to reduce the rate of acute kidney injury (AKI) after left ventricular assist device implantation (LVAD) and improve outcomes. With blood volume analysis (BVA) as a key component of the approach, this session will demonstrate the strategic need behind the utilization of BVA in the AHF population. Attendees will be able to understand how to best replicate this strategy in their own AHF programs.
Speaker: Brian Howard, MD, Medical Director, Advanced Heart Failure/LVAD Program, Wellstar Health System
Discover the latest advancements in MedAxcess, including subspecialty benchmarking and program-level filtering, to gain deeper insights into your data. Explore the new data story analysis feature, showcasing dynamic, multi-graph visualizations that bring your metrics to life and support more informed decision-making. This session highlights how these innovative tools can transform your approach to healthcare analytics.
Speakers:
2:45 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
GENERAL SESSIONS
2:45 p.m. - 3:15 p.m.
During this session, attendees will learn how to use AI to identify and improve outcomes for our cardiovascular patient. The speaker will review the use of an AI tool to support patient identification and treatment needs and share how this tool is applied in different patient populations. By the end of the session, attendees will understand how to roll out this technology to enhance appropriate patient care and support program growth.
Speaker: Ben Peterson, MD, MPH, Interventional Cardiologist, Medical Director, Heart and Vascular Research Institute, St. Elizabeth Healthcare
3:15 p.m. - 3:40 p.m.
During this panel discussion, representatives from different organizations will describe their ASC journeys, including their reasons for opening an ASC, ownership and operating models, procedure types and patient volumes. The speakers will outline physician and patient experiences when providing and receiving care in an ASC. In addition to reviewing their biggest surprises while opening and developing their ASCs, they will share peer-to-peer recommendations for attendees seeking an ASC strategy as well as thoughts on expansion of procedure types.
Speakers:
Moderator: Jerry Blackwell, MBA, MD, FACC, President and CEO, MedAxiom
3:40 p.m. - 4:05 p.m.
The regulatory and legislative environment for healthcare is constantly evolving and significantly impacts cardiovascular practices. This session will delve into the latest updates on federal and state policies affecting cardiology, including Medicare reimbursement, site neutrality, telehealth expansion and value-based care initiatives.
Speakers:
4:05 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
During this session, speakers will define the dyad leadership model and how it can be used to integrate clinical and administrative leadership in the field of cardiology. In addition to identifying the model’s key benefits of improved decision-making, enhanced collaboration, and aligned clinical and operational goals, speakers will discuss best practices for fostering successful partnerships between physician and administrative leaders to optimize patient care and operational efficiency.
Speakers:
4:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Often referred to as the “sandwich generation,” today’s clinical leaders face a diverse set of challenges, including change management and a lack of consensus around full-time equivalent positions. During this discussion, panelists will share effective ways to address those challenges and close the gap between different generations of physicians and encourage a shared mission of delivering high-quality cardiovascular care. Panelists will also consider strategies for alleviating physician burnout and creatively recruiting and retaining new physicians.
Speakers:
8:30 a.m. - 11:20 a.m.
GENERAL SESSIONS
8:30 a.m. - 9:10 a.m.
This session will provide a framework for integrating clinical pharmacists into the care delivery team. Attendees will better understand the scope of practice for clinical pharmacists and how their expertise can be applied across cardiovascular care delivery. The speaker will use real-world examples to outline the clinical objectives and strategies that clinical pharmacists can fulfill. The speaker will also share reimbursement options for clinical pharmacy services in the cardiovascular ambulatory setting.
Speaker: Craig Beavers, PharmD, FACC, FAHA, FCCP, BCCP, BCPS-AQ Cardiology, CACP, Vice President of Operations, Baptist Health Paducah; Assistant Adjunct Professor, University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy
9:10 a.m. - 9:35 a.m.
This presentation offers an in-depth look at the implementation and scaling of a successful cardiac PET program. This presentation will guide attendees through the challenges, triumphs and best practices gleaned from real-world experience. From initial set-up to program expansion, this session will explore the critical factors that contribute to a thriving cardiac PET service. Whether attendees are planning to launch a new program or enhance an existing one, this session will offer valuable insights to help programs tackle the complexities of advanced cardiac imaging.
Speakers:
9:35 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.
This session will establish the need for effective cardiometabolic management in cardiovascular patient populations. In addition to outlining key components of a cardiometabolic program, the speaker will share how cardiac computed tomography angiography with plaque analysis can be a powerful tool in risk assessment and patient engagement in this patient population.
Speaker: Shone Almeida, MD, FACC, Cardiac CT & Cardiometabolic Disease Prevention Program, University of South Florida
10:00 a.m. - 10:25 a.m.
This session will examine the evolving complexities of cardiovascular nursing, including the diverse roles nurses can play within the field. The speaker, a MedAxiom nursing expert, will explore the integration of cardiovascular nurses into multidisciplinary care teams, emphasizing collaboration and role optimization. The session will also consider future directions for cardiovascular nursing, focusing on expanding roles and enhancing team-based care approaches.
Speaker: Jenny Kennedy, MSN, RN, CHFN, NEA-BC, Vice President, Care Transformation Services, MedAxiom
10:25 a.m. - 10:55 a.m.
In today's hyper-connected cardiovascular environment, cybersecurity isn't just an IT issue – it's a patient safety imperative with threats to electronic health records, cardiovascular imaging and other technology. This session will detail the appropriate response to a cybersecurity event in a hospital or health system. The speaker will discuss how to recognize the attack or event, respond, and operate during the down time. The session will also address the post-event challenges, such as determining lost revenue and the consequences of the exposure of protected health information. Additionally, attendees will better understand potential system vulnerabilities and steps to protect and minimize the effects of an attack.
Speaker: Vance Chunn, DSc, MSHA, FACHE, CEO, Cardiology Associates of Mobile, Inc.
10:55 a.m. - 11:20 a.m.
During this panel discussion, MedAxiom experts will provide an overview of the current state of affairs in electrophysiology (EP). Speakers will consider atrial fibrillation population growth and undermanagement, as well as the latest EP technological advances and how they affect capacity, efficiency and throughput. Attendees will gain an understanding of shifts in sites of care, referral management and other programming considerations in this rapidly evolving subspecialty.
Speakers:
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Cookie Policy, Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.