American College of Cardiology

• ACC/AHA guidelines and consensus documents advise all cardiac catheterization laboratories to have a continuous quality improvement (CQI) program in place
• Utilize the ACC-CathKIT® to implement positive change and raise your cardiac catheterization laboratory’s rate of success
• In many cases, leaders responsible for change have not received training on the concepts of CQI and find it difficult to implement CQI programs in the cardiac catheterization laboratory
• There is a growing need for a comprehensive kit that assists cardiac catheterization laboratories with administrative and regulatory challenges
• ACC-CathKIT® is exactly what cath lab directors and administrators need to ensure they are running a quality cardiac catheterization laboratory

The ACC-CathKIT® is developed with the knowledge and expertise of leaders from the following organizations:

• American College of Cardiology
• Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions
• Alliance of Cardiovascular Professionals
• American College of Cardiovascular Administrators
• American Heart Association
• Society of Invasive Cardiovascular Professionals

The ACC-CathKIT® offers the following benefits:

• Printable self-evaluation checklist reports
• Printable quality scorecard (performance benchmark) reports
• A comprehensive outcomes-oriented do-it-yourself training tool to help meet cardiac catheterization laboratory quality standards on a continuous basis
• Access to cardiac catheterization laboratory quality improvement success stories—ACC-CathKIT® users can view and submit examples of how quality management tools have been used to their best advantage
• Receive CME and CE through the ACCF (future benefit)

The ACC-CathKIT® offers the following key features:

• ACC/AHA Practice Guidelines
• The latest information on regulatory challenges
• Performance benchmarks
• Information on facility and environment requirements regarding physical space, equipment maintenance, image quality, and radiation safety
• Budgetary and financial planning information
• Job descriptions, training requirements, and credentialing
• Samples of clinical practice tools and templates
• Guidance on building relations with state regulators and the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO)
• A message board to facilitate connections with your peers
• Tutorials on implementing CQI, along with a series of self-evaluation checklists
• Cath lab quality improvement success stories detailing best practices

The ACC-CathKIT® is an interactive, web-based tool for physicians, administrators, and cardiac catheterization laboratory personnel. It includes five core content areas:

1. Learn About CQI—This area focuses on general information about CQI with a pre-test and a post-test
2. Meet Standards—This area is quality assurance driven, it focuses on standards and guidelines. Requirements for space, equipment, staffing, training, procedures, etc.
3. Reporting and Outcomes—Report of your facility's Q/A and Q/I performance
4. Implement CQI—This area is an outcomes-oriented do-it-yourself training guide (tutorial) for conducting cardiac catheterization-specific CQI projects. The FOCUS-PDSA methodology is the selected quality improvement model utilized.
5. Resources—This area contains information on state regulations, tools and templates, a message board, and a library

The ACC-CathKIT® is designed to provide managers and clinicians with the tools they need to run a quality cardiac catheterization laboratory. The focus is on teaching and implementing the quality principles on a daily basis. A quality cardiac catheterization laboratory is a combination of a strong quality assurance and continuous quality improvement program.

Results will be seen through self-evaluation checklist reports and performance benchmark reports. These reports are automatically generated as soon as the self-evaluation checklists and/or performance benchmark sections are completed. The amount of time to complete sections will vary from institution to institution. Results will be seen first with the “Learn About CQI” section followed respectively with completion of the “Meet Standards” and “Implement CQI” sections. The “Implement CQI” section will take approximately 9 months to complete. To complete the whole kit from start to finish will take approximately 12 months.

Results are measured on a continuous basis through the self-evaluation checklist reports, the quality scorecard (performance benchmark) reports, and the CQI worksheets. Once a change is implemented, remeasurement will take place through the self-evaluation checklists and the quality scorecard reports. Results can also be viewed upon completion of each step of the FOCUS-PDSA quality improvement model.

As a future benefit, facilities and their staff will have two opportunities to receive CME:

1. The ACC-CathKIT® subscribers will be eligible to receive CME credit upon completion of a pre-test and post-test of the core content area “Learn About CQI”. Completion of this section will take on an average of 6 hours. Tentative consideration for the value of CME will be 2 credits.
2. Facilities and their staff will have the opportunity to receive outcome evidence-base CME for implementing a continuous quality improvement (CQI) project in the cardiac catheterization laboratory. CME will be provided for the successful completion of an entire project as well as for completing the 9 steps of the FOCUS-PDSA Model. The “Implement CQI” section includes tutorials with worksheets on implementing CQI for each step.

   Step 1. Find a process to improve
   Step 2. Organize a team
   Step 3. Clarify current process
   Step 4. Understand process variation
   Step 5. Select the improvement
   Step 6. Plan the improvement
   Step 7. Do implement the plan
   Step 8. Study to see if improvement made a difference
   Step 9. Act to hold all gains realized and continuously improve

Upon completion of each of these steps and submission of the corresponding worksheets, the facility’s quality improvement team members will each receive CME credit. To receive CME for the successful completion of an outcome evidence-base quality improvement project, facilities will need to show improvement through data (e.g., cost benefit, decreasing length of stay, decreasing wait time). Completion of each step will take an average 6 hours. Tentative consideration for value of CME will be 2 credits for each step completed. Completion of an outcome-base quality improvement project will take an average of 18 hours. Tentative consideration for value of CME will be 6 credits. The approximate maximum of credits granted would be 36.

The ACC-CathKIT® is being offered for a 12-month subscription per facility for $1995. Cath labs with an ACC or SCAI member or that are ACC-NCDR® participants should provide their membership identification number or participant identification number on the order form to purchase the ACC-CathKIT® for $1795. Health systems or networks can receive a 10% savings on their qualified purchase price of ACC-CathKIT® when they purchase two or more subscriptions at the same time.

To purchase the ACC-CathKIT® go to www.acccathkit.com, to download an order form with payment instructions. User access and instructions will be given within two business days of receiving your payment.

As a website, only internet access is required to use the ACC-CathKIT®. As soon as your order form is processed, you will receive a confirmation email with a user name and password which will give you access to the site. The ACC-CathKIT® works best with Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.X or Netscape 6.0. You will also need to set your browser to allow pop-ups.

The ACC-CathKIT® collects data at the facility-level to help identify areas for improvement for the overall cath lab. This means that no patient-specific and physician-specific data is entered. The Quality Scorecard is the only feature of the ACC-CathKIT® in which this data is entered for the following subject areas: Institutional Competencies and Capabilities, Process Management, Clinical Outcomes, Patient Satisfaction/Quality of Life, and Financial Indicators. There are a total of 51 questions that many cath labs are already answering as part of their existing work.

The ACCF stores the data entered into the ACC-CathKIT® on a secure server in order to support the product. The data is not used to generate reports for subscribers or other parties. The Terms and Conditions of the ACC-CathKIT® describe in more detail the ACCF’s intended use of this information.

Through your participation in the ACC-NCDR®, your cath lab can identify potential areas for improvement in clinical outcomes. The ACC-CathKIT® provides you with the resources you need to implement a continuous quality improvement project to improve those outcomes. Within the ACC-CathKIT® there is a CQI tutorial, step-by-step project guide, best practices and evidence-based standards, templates of policies, and much more.

It takes an average of 30 minutes to complete the Quality Scorecard. There are a total of 51 questions in five subject areas: Institutional Competencies and Capabilities, Process Management, Clinical Outcomes, Patient Satisfaction/Quality of Life, and Financial Indicators. Many cath labs are already answering these questions as part of their existing work.

The data entered into the ACC-CathKIT® by a subscriber is owned jointly by the ACCF and the subscriber. This means that release of the data by the ACCF would have to be authorized by the subscriber. The ACC-CathKIT® Terms and Conditions describe this in more detail.

The ACC-CathKIT® was designed with the time constraints on the cath lab team in mind. The product offers features like the Quality Scorecard and Self-Evaluation Checklists to enable the cath lab team to quickly identify opportunities for improvement and focus their attention on only the areas that need it. Guideline recommendations and standards are consolidated, updated, and cross-referenced to be as conveniently accessible as possible. Time estimates for completion of certain features and sections will be added to the product as we learn more from the subscriber experience.

There is currently no EP information in the ACC-CathKIT®. A long-term plan does include the exploration of a new product for EP to coincide with the ICD Registry™.

Technical problems and feedback about the product can be emailed to cathkit@acc.org. For immediate assistance, dial 800-253-4636, ext. 451.

The ACC-CathKIT® is based on an institutional model. Its features are intended for the entire cath lab team to evaluate the performance of their facility and conduct a quality improvement project.

CathSAP is based on an individual model. Its features are intended to provide individuals with comprehensive training for ABIM exam preparation in cardiac cath and interventional cardiology.

The ACC-CathKIT® is a quality improvement product. The ACC-NCDR® is a data collection and benchmarking program. ACC-NCDR® participants are encouraged to use their data reports to identify opportunities for improvement and measure the impact of interventions implemented through the ACC-CathKIT®.

Currently, there is no technical relationship between the two products. By the end of 2005, several features in the CathKIT may be auto-populated with NCDR CathPCI data. We are also exploring other opportunities for synergy.

All questions in the Self-Evaluation Checklists are linked to a corresponding JCAHO standard to facilitate preparation for JCAHO review. The ACCF and JCAHO are currently discussing options regarding use of the CQI Worksheets for the accreditation process as well. The features in the ACC-CathKIT® are intended for facilities to show evidence of performance improvement and action planning.

Contact information of volunteer subscribers are available upon request. Email cathkit@acc.org for information.