CV Transforum Fall’26: Strategic Expansion of CV Services to Support Sustainable Growth

News | Published: Friday, October 23, 2026

As demand for cardiovascular care continues to rise, simply adding more physicians, advanced practice providers (APPs) or clinic space may not be enough to solve patient access challenges, according to Tiffany K. Street, DNP, ACNP-BC, FAANP, vice president of Care Transformation Services at MedAxiom, who presented at CV Transforum Fall’26 in Denver. Cardiovascular programs may need to start by looking for capacity they already have.

Street outlined strategies for expanding ambulatory access through capacity and demand management, care model design, operational efficiency, and patient engagement.

Key Takeaways

Unlock existing capacity. Look beyond adding providers and space to identify hidden capacity across people, time and facilities.
Rethink care delivery. Optimize APP utilization, virtual care, visit types and disease-specific pathways to expand patient access.
Use data to manage demand. Track capacity, referrals, wait times and utilization to identify bottlenecks and guide growth.
Keep patients at the center. Design access around getting the right patient to the right provider, in the right setting, at the right time.

Start by Finding Hidden Capacity

Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the U.S., while demand continues to grow and ambulatory capacity for visits and diagnostic testing remains constrained. Patient access has also emerged as a top challenge for cardiovascular programs.¹

For Street, improving access does not necessarily begin with hiring. Many clinics have capacity they cannot see or effectively deploy across people, time and space.

Finding that hidden capacity starts with data. Programs should understand measures such as patient volume, provider clinic sessions, visit types, template fill rates, appointment duration, cancellations, no-shows and room utilization to identify where capacity is being lost.

Rethink How Cardiovascular Care Is Delivered

Better care model design can help programs translate that capacity into greater patient access.

Street highlighted APP utilization as one opportunity. Clear pathways can help determine when patients see a physician versus an APP, opening physician capacity for complex new patients while APPs manage appropriate follow-up, preventive, heart failure (HF), hypertension and post-hospital care.

Access clinics can help as well. Same-day APP cardiovascular clinics, chest pain clinics and disease-specific pathways can create faster options for patients while improving referral and patient satisfaction. Virtual care can further support areas including HF monitoring, hypertension management and post-hospital follow-up.

Manage Demand, Not Just Capacity

Improving cardiovascular patient access also requires understanding demand.

Street emphasized data integration, standardized processes and proactive capacity planning. Centralized referral management, clinical triage protocols, automated waitlists and referral analytics can help programs identify bottlenecks and better connect patients with appropriate care.

Measures such as referral-to-appointment time, new-patient wait time, referral conversion and referral leakage can then help leaders determine where access improvements are needed.

Keep the Patient at the Center of Cardiovascular Growth

Ultimately, Street brought sustainable growth back to the patient: the right patient, with the right provider, in the right setting, at the right time.

For cardiovascular programs facing growing demand and constrained resources, that means looking beyond simply adding capacity. By optimizing care teams, access pathways, referrals and data, programs can begin with a more strategic question: How can we better use the capacity we already have?

References:

MedAxiom. 2026 CV Program Top Priorities Survey Report. MedAxiom.com. Published April 2026. Accessed October 23, 2026. https://www.medaxiom.com/publications/reports/#row748442.