Why did Georgia not allow hospitals without open-heart surgery to perform PCI?
The regulation was established many years ago in case something went wrong during the catheterization process and open heart surgery was needed. However, newer research studies have shown that clinical outcomes for elective angioplasty in programs without on-site cardiac surgery are equal to those hospitals with on-site cardiac surgery. How did TRMC treat patients requiring PCI before the clinical study? The TRMC Heart and Vascular Center has one of Georgia’s most advanced cardiac catheterization labs, but was not permitted to perform PCI because of state regulations. Only diagnostic cardiac catheterizations were allowed. Patients that were identified as needing angioplasty in the cardiac catheterization laboratory had to be discharged and admitted to a hospital with on-site cardiac surgery or transferred by ambulance. This created significant inconvenience for patients and their families as well as added delay, increased costs and greater health risk. And, in many cases, it was a matt
