This is not the first time structural heart imagers have called for greater consistency and increased visibility as a subspecialty. Many newer procedures like TAVR and, more recently, mitral and tricuspid interventions cannot be completed without a competent cardiac imager, yet institutions generally don’t recognize these physicians’ contributions through traditional reimbursement models.
Jonathon Leipsic, MD (St Paul’s Hospital, Vancouver, Canada), the lead author of the core competency paper on cardiac CT, told TCTMD that he fielded some hesitation from experts about the timing of a paper like this given the maturity of the field. “My feeling was that we have to start somewhere,” he said. “Obviously they’re not to be binding and they’re not to drive reimbursement, but it does give some benchmarks for new sites as they integrate CT perhaps or they start doing TAVR. . . . Until now, it’s really been left entirely up to sites. There’s been zero definition of quantity measures that may be required to be somewhat competent in this.”
Click here to read the full story in TCTMD.
