Rant #2

 CCA has more than 35 Board Certified Cardiologists, as they advertise. The Burdett Avenue office in Troy has at least 8 Interventional Cardiologists affiliated with the Troy office, which is practically just across the street from Samaritan Hospital.  

A great many heart attacks occur suddenly and severely, and require emergency treatment and/ or intervention. It would seem that interventional cardiologists, with their specialized training, must have to respond to  many emergency situations. Of course, I don't know anything about the protocol, whether there is an interventional cardiologist always available for emergencies for patients whose optimal treatment would be in the Cath Lab.

 (Correction, I do know that interventional cardiologists are not always  available, not in any of the 3  Capital Cardiology hospitals. Dr. Benton was at Samaritan Hospital  when he recognized the  urgent need for a patient (known to me) to be sent to the Catheterization Lab at Samaritan. He ordered that the patient receive such a procedure, remarking that it was the best possible treatment the hospital could offer. Soon after, he returned to say that optimum treatment could not be provided  because there was no interventional cardiologist available. It was Saturday. We said we would go to another hospital, but he said no, he had made 8 calls and no one was available at any of the 3 hospitals, and offered the  treatment of an injection of some kind. The accompanying daughter spoke up, "You mean she's getting the second-best treatment?" Dr. B. left the room, then returned, with good news he said. He was able to contact a doctor who had just finished a procedure at Albany Med., was in his car, and he'd agreed to come to Samaritan's Cath Lab. Another  life to save, even if he would be late for lunch.  Dr. M.  verified the patient's condition and issued his procedural orders, all from his phone so when he arrived, everything was in order for an emergency procedure. Success!) 

 So it seems that interventional cardiologists can act quickly, and successfully perform procedures at a moment's notice. And I think several more cardiologists in the practice have completed their certification in intervention; they are the elite among doctors, as they are very well compensated. And after all, there is no heavy lifting in that job, only minimal physical contact;  the doctor does his work through the computer.

Capital Cardiology claims that the Troy office will remain open, and will serve outpatients at Samaritan, but red flags arise. If a doctor encounters a patient in his Troy office that needs medical care, maybe even suffering from symptoms of heart attack or heart failure, does it make sense that he would have that potentially critically ill patient transported to Albany when he could literally just cross the street to the state of the art Catheterization lab at Samaritan? 

 My suspicion that Cardiology  Associates is not being forthcoming about their future TRANSITIONS  is supported by the gossip I've heard from what seems fairly reliable sources-that for some reason, they are going to pull out of their relationship with Samaritan Hospital. I don't know if there are any other  interventional cardiologists who perform procedures in their Cath Lab. Probably not very many. My gossip source also says Samaritan is considering a Schenectady Cardiology group, but something about it is problematic. 

  This may seem like a lot of words spewed out about policy, but anybody who has a heart, especially an older model, should know what their options are, and that those options are subject to change, in sometimes mysterious ways. 

Enroute to 30,000 words,  but who's counting

Next:  Rant 4 Time Sensitive