Is Your Cardiology Practice Choosing a Cardiovascular Platform? Keep These 8 Considerations in Mind

With costs escalating, reimbursements fluctuating, and administrative burdens increasing, it’s challenging to thrive as an independent cardiology practice today. Many private cardiology practices are evaluating whether joining a cardiovascular platform is the best next step in their growth journey.

Cardiovascular Logistics (CVL) recognizes that the process of evaluating platforms is often unknown territory, and that it’s helpful to understand which factors weigh most heavily into the decision. Based on the experience of our current partner practices, the following are the top 8 considerations when choosing a cardiovascular platform.

1. Alignment with Your Mission and Vision

Joining a cardiovascular platform is the beginning of a long-term, rewarding partnership. So it’s critical that the platform’s mission and vision fully align with yours. For example, does the platform’s mission prioritize improving patient care and health outcomes? Does the organization articulate a clear and compelling vision, focused on the future of cardiovascular medicine?

One of CVL’s partner practices described it as seeking “like-minded physicians with a like-minded mission statement. If you don’t have a shared mission and vision, it upsets the apple cart and creates waves across the organization.”

2. Cultural Fit

Moving from being privately owned to becoming part of a cardiovascular platform is a significant change. For that reason, most cardiology practices look for a platform with a similar organizational culture and values. A strong cultural fit reduces the impact of the transition on the practice’s staff and ensures a positive environment for your valued employees.

3. Ownership and Decision-making Model

When your practice opts to join a cardiovascular platform, you want assurance that you’ll have an equity stake in the business and will share in its long-term financial success. Most private practices also want to maintain the autonomy to make clinical decisions locally and direct how they manage the practice day-to-day. Look for a platform that is physician-led, with physician representation on the board and physician input into local and national decisions.

According to a cardiology practice that joined the CVL platform,

“You’re winning because you’re still independent, and you still do the things you would like to in your practice to take care of your patients and improve patient care.”

4. Caliber of Participating Practices

Premier cardiologists want to practice medicine alongside like-minded, top-tier physicians. As a CVL practice recently shared, they looked for “strategically aligned practices that have been on the forefront of driving innovation in cardiology and cardiovascular medicine.” Another said they wanted to join a platform with “seasoned practices that have historically established themselves as market leaders, participating on the national front.”

As you evaluate platforms, consider these questions: Are they leaders in their respective markets—typically first in their region or their state to offer a new, innovative cardiology service? Do they participate in cutting-edge research and clinical trials? Do their cardiologists use the most advanced procedures and technology to improve patient care and drive better health outcomes?

5. Commitment to Cardiovascular Innovation

Leading cardiologists continually push cardiovascular medicine forward, always seeking the most effective ways to diagnose and treat disease. When choosing a cardiovascular platform, they look for an organization committed to investing in innovations that advance our field for the benefit of patients. A premier platform will prioritize implementing technologies that improve clinical outcomes, set the stage to offer new cardiovascular services, and enhance operational efficiency and effectiveness. For example, investing in PET/CT capabilities enables cardiology practices yields higher quality imaging and eliminates unnecessary diagnostic CTs, while adding a new revenue stream.

6. Financial Resources

Many cardiology practices find it challenging to compete in an environment of rising costs and volatile reimbursements. Without substantial capital, it’s difficult to launch ancillary services that address the full continuum of care, open new ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) and specialty clinics, invest in clinical technologies that improve patient care, or implement administrative systems that reduce costs and improve efficiency. Limited capital also makes it difficult to attract and retain the most talented cardiologists, including fellows who are deciding where the begin their careers.

The best-fit cardiovascular platform will bring the financial resources to make strategic investments that drive better care, improve talent acquisition, and strengthen the bottom line.

7. Opportunities to Collaborate and Share Best Practices

Premier cardiologists appreciate the opportunity to learn from the experiences of other talented professionals and apply those learnings for the benefit of patients. A best-in-class cardiovascular platform will operationalize opportunities for physicians to collaborate, exchange ideas, and share best practices that improve patient care and practice management.

For example, the platform might offer advisory councils that allow active, practicing physicians to share knowledge on targeted clinical topics. Or the organization might encourage practices to tap others that have already launched an innovative service line, reducing the learning curve and bringing new services to market successfully.

8. Economies of Scale

As a CVL partner practice explained, “It’s getting harder and harder to manage as a private practice without scale.” A high-cost environment creates pressure to drive down expenses and improve efficiency, but a private practice will find that difficult.

A cardiovascular platform with sufficient scale can negotiate more competitive contracts with payers and suppliers, enhancing the bottom line. The organization can also enroll in a group purchasing organization for better purchasing power, bringing down the cost of equipment, medical supplies, insurance, and other necessities.

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If you’re passionate about advancing cardiovascular medicine and improving patient care, joining Cardiovascular Logistics may be the best next step for your cardiology practice. Our physician-owned, physician-led platform equips leading cardiology practices to grow and thrive as they shape the future of cardiovascular medicine.

Contact CVL to discover how the right partnership can help you grow as a practice and provide the highest quality cardiovascular care.